ANTE-NATAL HYGIENE : DISCUSSION 381 



during suckling. It was very possible that in certain cir- 

 cumstances work would only be exercise, but there should 

 be a marked distinction drawn between work and exercise. 

 No one disputed the fact that exercise was necessary, but 

 working in a factory or laundry, in his opinion, was ex- 

 tremely bad and was contrary to the views so eloquently 

 put by Mr. Burns. Surely the ordinary household duties 

 were sufficient exercise, and he thought the man who 

 wanted his dinner could very well take the place of the dog 

 whom they had heard from Dr. Truby King worried the 

 sheep to keep them in good health. (Laughter.) 



Miss LLOYD (Birmingham Infants' Health Society and 

 School of Mothercraft) asked if they had clinics in con- 

 nection with the schools for mothers in England such as 

 they had abroad. There was an excellent one in Paris. 



The CHAIRMAN said that they would understand that 

 he looked at the matter from the medical point of view, 

 but it would be readily seen from the papers which had 

 been read that they had somewhat similar conditions 

 across the ocean to what they had in the old land. Dr. 

 Van Ingen had spoken about density of population and 

 they had density of population in Canada and in the United 

 States and in Great Britain, and the Government Depart- 

 ments and municipal authorities had great difficulties to deal 

 with in this matter. In that respect they were all alike, 

 whether it was the new cities of Winnipeg, or Regina or 

 Edmonton in the North-West, to which they sent thousands. 

 They found density of population, and he told them there 

 candidly that the environment in certain seasons of the year 

 was infinitely worse than in Great Britain. 



A DELEGATE said that Dr. Smart, of Aberdeen, had told 

 them he managed to get a grant from the Council. She 

 would like to ask whether it was from the education 

 authority or the sanitary authority. 



The CHAIRMAN said that with regard to the whole of 

 this work of the prevention of infant mortality, he would 

 like to impress on them that it was really a public health 

 question. At present it was being carried on, and for a 

 long time had been carried on, on social lines, but if 

 hygiene was worth anything they should begin with the 

 ante-natal period and go on through infancy right up to 

 childhood. They were watching Great Britain and all other 

 countries who were carrying out the work of medical in- 

 spection of schools. They were carrying on public health 

 work through medical officers of health and municipal 

 authorities, 'but they had neglected that part of preventive 

 medicine which was ante-natal and until the child became 



