(3) If she was a munition worker she might be aided under a scheme provided under the Ministry of Munitions. (4) She also might obtain priority for the supply of milk, or obtain free milk or milk at cost price under the Local Committee Board Food Control Order, No. 1, 1918, empowering local authorities to supply milk and food and an extra ration under the Food Controller’s Order. In addition, after confinement she had available the ration apportioned to the infant and its allowance of milk under the priority scheme. There was evidently need for simplification and unification of effort in the above cases. In many instances maternity nursing is required. The midwife may have too many patients to be able to give this during the ten days in which she is in charge of the patient; and even when she carries out her duty in this respect in accordance with the Rules of the Central Midwives Board additional help is required in the feeding and care of the mother and infant, and in the care of the household. Often also nursing is required for both mother and infant for a considerable period beyond the ten days. For these persons the government gives grants for maternity nursing and for “home helps.” Even when all the above requirements are or can be fulfilled, there remain a large number of cases of pregnant women, and especially of unmarried women, who cannot be satisfactorily confined at home, either because of their social or sanitary circumstances, or because abnormal or complicated childbirth is expected. For such cases hospital provision is needed. This is one of the most urgent requirements of the present time. Under present conditions, institutional lying-in provision is chiefly voluntary in character; and the government has advised local authorities to contract for its use, rather than wait for the erection of special hospitals. In other instances houses are being taken and adapted as maternity homes. _Ante-natal Work_ The progress made in the organisation of ante-natal work is slow for reasons which are fairly obvious. There has been difficulty under war conditions in securing assistance from doctors and midwives. There is the well-known difficulty as to notification of pregnancy, which the government has not encouraged, except when the definite consent of the mother has been previously obtained. The facilities for help provided at the Centre have in some areas attracted patients; and health visitors and midwives have done much in other areas to persuade mothers of the advisability of safeguarding themselves against possible complications, as well as of securing adequate preparation for the lying-in period.