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thought, were expensive, but the Central Authority would 
repay a large proportion of the money spent on such schools. 
Therefore, there was no excuse for not doing it. 
If there was a time for doing it, it was surely necessary 
now with a continually declining birth-rate and a heavy 
infant death-rate. It did not need much to see that they 
were not going to burn the candle at both ends long. The 
nation was getting alarmed, and in recent years attempts 
had been made to check this state of things. Into the ques- 
tion of the declining birth-rare they could not enter, but the 
problem of the infant death-rate was one which concerned 
Burnley particularly. He found from the health report of 
1874 they were discussing the same problem. The problem 
confronting them was, could they do anything to prevent 
this wastage of child life ? It varied very much in different 
parts of the country, and it was remarkable that towns so 
closely together as Nelson and Burnley, and so alike in their 
industries and conditions, should vary as much as they did 
in the death-rate. This was not time time to analyse the 
figures, but they must realise the fact that the rate, particu- 
larly in Burnley and in Lancashire, was far too high. They 
seemed to have got to the place where they ought to have 
started centuries ago — with the unborn child. It was sad 
to think that a large number of children were, so to speak, 
dead before they were born ; they never had a chance of 
living after birth. What it was proposed they should do 
was to set up certain centres where expectant mothers would 
be invited — not compelled — to go, where they would be 
welcomed and would receive advice according to their indi- 
vidual cases. As in many cases the feeding of mothers had 
a great deal to do with the offspring, certain authorities 
were undertaking to see that during the latter months, at 
least, the mother should be properly fed. If they could get 
the women to attend these centres it would arouse in them a 
greater interest and show them they were thought more of 
than mere units of the population. That involved setting 
up Maternity Centres. Many women lost their lives in 
childbirth, and an attempt would be made to minimise this 
as far as possible by placing at the disposal of every mother, 
no matter what her social position was, the best nursing and 
surgical skill the town possessed. It was hoped by those 
things, first of all, to interest the mother with sensible advice 
as to obtaining the best prospects of having healthy children, 
then to assist them in their hour of need, and afterwards to 
get them to continue regularly visiting centres in order that 
tin 1 growth and development of the child might be followed. 
