Ideal prenatal care would really begin during the expectant mother’s own infancy, for the chances of a normal pregnancy, labor and lying-in period are greatly increased by good care during the early years of life. But for the time being we shall have to content ourselves with an effort to extend, as widely as possible, the care that is now known to be beneficial for expectant mothers from the beginning of pregnancy. This prenatal care is undertaken in much the same spirit in which one makes a garden, for example. We know, of course, that plants which are neglected sometimes grow and blossom satisfactorily, though one would not think of depending upon them to do so. But we have learned that plants that are given the care and protection that they need are almost certain to flourish and bloom after the manner of their kind. Experience teaches, however, that this care must be regular and sustained and always given for the twofold purpose of preserving the plants from injury as well as nourishing them. Accordingly we put them in good soil, to begin with, and then give water, sunshine or shade, according to their respective needs, and we take care to protect them from the destructive effects of harmful insects, blights, weeds or anything which may be unfavorable to their healthy progress. We do not close our eyes to the fact that these harmful conditions are possible. Instead, we are anxious to find out all about them—what causes them and how to recognize them—in order that we may prevent or remove them before they do serious damage. Many women, nowadays, are taking just that kind of attitude toward motherhood. They begin by consulting a doctor as soon as they know that they are pregnant, because they appreciate the importance of doing so. They study eagerly the questions relating to motherhood; the structure and workings of those parts of their own bodies which are concerned with the baby’s creation; how he evolves within them; what he needs during those nine months of development; what practices, what conditions are bad for the baby and themselves; what they can do to avoid or correct these and how they can help to make things go smoothly. The women who face the facts of motherhood in this way generally go through the entire adventure normally and successfully, as Nature intended they should. More than this, those women who place themselves under a doctor’s care from the beginning of, or early in, pregnancy, are greatly reassured to find out how much can be done to safeguard them, and they do not have that fear of the approaching birth which is suffered by so many women who do not know nor understand what is going on.