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69
Our aim is easy, natural childbirth, fine babies and happy,
healthy mothers".
Health Teaching
Groups for relaxation exercises and mothercraft are held at
special sessions at all except two maternity and child welfare
clinics. The groups are intentionally small so that they are
informal and in order that health visitors who give the instruction
and demonstrations and lead discussion can give individual
attention to members of each group.
A film strip proj ector and film strips were purchased to give
greater variety to the methods used. This additional visual aid
has promoted considerable interest amongst the mothers attending
the centres.
The value of relaxation exercises for expectant mothers has
been generally accepted as being of considerable help to the
mother during her delivery if they have been practised during the
ante-natal period That the mothers themselves both appreciate
the teaching of relaxation and benefit from it is disclosed by the
large number of mothers who have orally expressed their gratitude
and recognition of the benefit that these classes has given to
them. Many, too, have written to health visitors in similar
terms, An extract from one of these illustrates these points:"Now
that the great event is over I should very much like to tell
you how helpful I found the Relaxation classes. Comparing this
confinement with my first I find there is no real comparison,
because this one was so simple and the other so awful. The
difference, I believe, was largely due to the knowledge you gave
us and to the exercises".