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Rest should be taken daily in the afternoons, and mental excitement
avoided.
Clothing should be loose and warm, woollens being worn next
the skin.
Bathing should be carefully attended to, especially towards the
end of pregnancy.
The Bowels should act daily—cascara is a useful, simple laxative.
Infectious Disease. Pregnant women should avoid contact with
any kind of infectious disease, and with patients suffering
from discharging sores.
The Nipples during the last two months of pregnancy should be
bathed with boiled warm water, and glycerine of borax
applied daily. When taken in labour, the patient should
have a warm bath, plenty of soap and water being used, and
fresh clean underclothing be put on.
The Lying-in Room.
The room should be scrupulously clean, the window and grate
register opened. In cold weather a small fire is necessary.
The room should not have been recently used for any case
of infectious disease. If there is any doubt about this, the
room will be disinfected free of charge on application to the
Medical Officer of Health.
Two wash basins, a nail brush, soap and hot water, an efficient
antiseptic, scissors, thread, and plenty of clean towels, and a
binder with safety pins, should be prepared ready beforehand.
The patient should he on a firm mattress with a clean mackintosh
and sheets.
The Maternity Nurse.
The nurse must be scrupulously clean in every way, and should
not have been recently engaged in nursing any case of
puerperal fever or other infectious disease. All maternity
nurses are advised to procure a copy of the instructions
issued by the Central Midwives' Board, and to follow the
rules given therein in respect to clothing, disinfection of
hands, disinfection of appliances, and disinfection of the
patient.