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invited to attend. Six sessions were held with a total attendance of 32,
but while the experiment had value in the more detailed advice which
could be given to those who attended, the support was not such as to
justify continuation of the experiment, reliance being placed upon the
instruction given by the Health Visitors to individual mothers, as
hitherto.
Post-Natal Examinations.
By comparison with the increase in ante-natal attendances the proportion
of mothers presenting themselves for post-natal examination has
tended to diminish, although the total number of attendances has not
varied greatly. In part this can be attributed to lack of appreciation
of the need for the examination, coupled with the increased demands on
mothers in war-time and the overcrowding of the ante-natal clinics.
This is one aspect of the maternal welfare work requiring special
attention in the future, as it is most desirable that all mothers should be
examined at least once after their confinements, the ideal being an
examination by the doctor who attended the confinement at the end of
the lying-in period and another examination six weeks after the birth
has occurred. Much inconvenience and suffering, which in the past
has often resulted from neglect following childbirth, could be avoided
if mothers would only co-operate by the use of the facilities provided
by the Council. If the higher birth rate is maintained and improved
post-natal attendance is encouraged, an increase in the number of
maternity clinic sessions will be an inevitable corollary.

Midwifery Service.
T.he Council, acting as agents for the Surrey County Council, appointed
two midwives in December, 1937, to serve the Sanderstead/
Selsdon and Purley/Kenley areas. In addition, the Coulsdon District
Nursing Association has, for several years, employed two midwives to
attend confinements in the homes of residents in the Coulsdon area.
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