Mothers and Midwives The Midwives Bill introduced by Sir Kingsley
Wood requires local supervising authorities to maintain a staff of salaried midwives adequate for each area, and instruc- tion courses in midwifery ; it provides for compensation for midwives who do not secure employment on the new staff and compulsory retirement of midwives who are not fully qualified. The Bill, indeed, promises to every worker, before, during and after childbirth, the care of a fully qualified midwife and maternity nurse. Yet it would not satisfy the demands put forward by the British Medical Association this week, claiming for every mother full treatment by a doctor, midwife and nurse of her own choice, adequate treatment and advice, and a supply of all necessary dressings and apparatus. With less than this, say the Association, we cannot be satisfied. The basis for these claims is, clearly, the belief that, where private means are not sufficient, the State must accept full responsibility for the bringing of children into the world ; and there is much to be said for it.
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