280 MEDICAL SECTION 



know what they are about when, in the interests of 

 the future generation, they demand that their mid- 

 wives shall have had a two years' training, to be spent 

 not only in the lecture and labour rooms, but largely 

 in the lying-in wards and nurseries attached. But, 

 even if we ever do obtain a suitable training for this 

 very important profession, we have not yet reached 

 our goal. We have still to provide a living wage 

 instead of a starvation pittance, and also to take means 

 to effect a friendly relationship between the midwife 

 and her successor, the health visitor. In the country 

 the latter practically does not exist, and the midwife 

 remains the supreme authority on the bringing up of 

 children, but in towns the friction between the two is 

 sometimes a very serious matter. As we have already 

 said, the midwife needs to make a careful study of each 

 little digestive apparatus committed to her care, but 

 it is hard on the child that the result of her observa- 

 tions should be regarded as not worthy of consideration 

 by the health visitor, and that the latter should start 

 de novo to experiment on its unfortunate little stomach. 

 If we could only promote co-operation it would be 

 a tremendous incentive to the midwife to study, that 

 she was expected to hand over her charge, not only 

 in good condition but with its scheme of nutrition 

 built on a scientific basis, and justified by its increase 

 of weight since birth. And the same would apply 

 to the health visitor, who would be liable hence- 

 forward to friendly criticism of a more discerning 

 nature than that of the parents on the advice given 

 to her charges. 



DISCUSSION. 



Miss ASHTON (Manchester) said the whole trend of Miss 

 Gregory's paper was towards State payment, and many of 

 those who were working on midwives' supervising com- 

 mittees were of opinion that they would never be able to 

 improve the training and standard of midwives unless they 

 were paid like Medical Officers of Health. They were as 



