24S -MEDICAL SECTION 



he is wise, takes practical and theoretical lessons 

 before he tries to drive it. If he does not, he may do 

 great damage at the beginning. By the side of the 

 machinery of a motor-car the mechanism of a baby is 

 delicate and intricate beyond compare, and there is 

 the additional disadvantage that broken parts cannot 

 be replaced. And yet many a novice mother tries her 

 hand at caring for an infant with no more preparation 

 than the odd bits of knowledge she has picked up. 



To my mind the birthright of many of the first- 

 born of to-day is by no means enviable, and they fully 

 earn what rights they have, for it is often their lot to 

 act as an object lesson for an inexperienced mother 

 and to enable her to learn by her mistakes how to 

 bring up her later children. 



A point that strikes me most forcibly is the prevail- 

 ing ignorance and helplessness if any difficulty arises 

 in the course of breast-feeding. Far too many babies 

 are weaned because of some difficulty in breast- 

 feeding, and far too often this weaning is done on 

 the advice of medical men and midwives. We do not 

 know enough about breast-feeding and the causes that 

 lead to variations in the power to nourish an infant, 

 and I want to enter a plea for more scientific study and 

 systematic instruction in this important part of infant 

 hygiene. We owe a debt to Dr. E. Pritchard and 

 others who have lately done so much to stimulate this 

 study, and I hope that we shall have more articles like 

 that by Dr. Lucy Naish in the Lancet of June 14, 



It is the same with artificial feeding ; at hospitals, 

 and especially in private practice, the failures are far 

 more often due to ignorance than to want of care. 

 In many cases the mother depends on the knowledge 

 she has picked up from the maternity nurse : such 

 knowledge usually depends entirely on chance and 

 a haphazard discussion of points that may arise. 



The general advantages and the great success that 



