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Some people claim to possess the gift of omniscience; but most of us are mort
humble mortals who try to learn all we can when, where, and how we can, and it is
a good thing to begin early. Mrs. Harper, the Matron of Gifford Lodge Day
Nursery, sends me a report about the training we give to girl guides who train for
the Child Nurse badge. She says that following the training course a girl guide
attends the nursery for two days in order to pass her test for the Child Nurse
badge.
"I expect a guide entering for this badge to have a high stanadrd of personal
cleanliness, a sense of responsibility and capable of taking charge of a child
between the age of three to five, for any period of the day. I try to make the
test as straight-forward as possible, and the girl feel comfortable and at home.
"I observe her for periods during the two days on how to wash a child
before and after meals; how to manage the toilet, how to serve a meal; how to
put him to bed; set out suitable play material and keep him generally amused;
how to tell a story.
"I follow this at the end of the second afternoon by asking her questions
about how a child should be clothed in summer and winter; what food is
suitable for him; the different kinds of toys and material and how to improvise
with everyday articles such as cotton-reels and cartons; how to prevent
accidents in the house and garden; how to take his temperature.
"By this time, if I pass her as a Child Nurse, I am confident that she can go
home and look after her young brothers and sisters and no harm can come to
them".
I wonder how many mothers could pass this test. Nowadays most of the
women's magazines print articles on child welfare. The clinics are always packed
with mothers seeking information. There is no end to the demand for good
advice. I wish child welfare or health could be made a subject in the General
Certificate of Education examination. I guess it would be more use to our girls
(and boys) than French.
THE MUDDLE OF THE MATERNITY SERVICES
The Growth of the Clinics
After the First World War ended in 1918 there was widespread recognition
of the very great need for filling in the gap of the medical services for women and
children. Since the introduction of the National Health Service Act in 1948,
when most medical services are free or nearly so, we tend to forget that before this
happy era they had to be paid for by the patients. In many parts of the country
there was widespread alarm about the number of women who died in childbirth,
and the appalling amount of illness and death amongst babies and young children.
Hence the government encouraged local authorities to set up their maternity and
child welfare clinics; between the two wars they grew up and spread to all parts of
the country.
The Midwives
In those days most confinements were done by midwives, but some general
practitioners also did so for fees. There was a scheme then, as indeed still, where
a midwife could call in to aid a woman in childbirth, a practitioner whose fees
were guaranteed by the local authority. Up to 1948 the vast majority of the
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