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44
class woman in the management of her own health during
pregnancy, and in the after care of the infant. The
Board urges that arrangements should be made for the
care and instruction of women during pregnancy, during
and after confinement and, in addition, instruction in the
care and management of infant life. I grant the ignorance;
the disinclination of working-class women to enter
domestic service is well known, so they get no opportunity
to learn. Girls commence work in factories
directly they leave school, often at the tender age of
thirteen; they leave home early and return late, the result
of which is that they grow up ignorant of house-management
and mother-craft, unable to cook a meal, and quite
incapable of washing or dressing a baby. Girls of this
class marry early, knowing nothing of the responsibilities
of married life; and it is for the benefit of such as
these that the Local Government Board contemplates
Maternity and Child Welfare schemes. The Board
strongly advises the immediate appointment of two additional
Health Visitors; but to set two more women to
work in the Borough without proper supervision would
be, in my opinion, worse than useless.
In a report I recently presented to the Public Health
Committee I suggested that a lady doctor should be
engaged to prescribe for small ailments and give health
lectures upon appropriate subjects on four afternoons in
each week. But, upon consideration, I feel sure it would
be much more advantageous to appoint a whole-time
female assistant M.O.H. who should undertake the supervision
of the two present Health Visitors and of such
additional Officers and Tuberculosis Nurses as if may be
found necessary to appoint. This lady doctor could