_During Birth._--The health both of the mother and of the child suffers in many cases, unless during and after delivery the mother is attended by a qualified midwife or by a medical practitioner. The reasons for the frequent lack of skilled help in such cases are as follows: (_a_) Poverty; (_b_) desire for secrecy--this particularly in unmarried mothers; (_c_) in thinly-populated districts the help of a qualified midwife or that of a medical practitioner is not always easy to obtain; and even should such help be forthcoming, in the event of serious difficulty in delivery, the assistance of a skilled specialist will be unattainable. With regard to (_a_), it is necessary for poor pregnant women that the services of midwife and physician should be available gratuitously. This may be arranged, either through the woman being attended gratuitously in her own home by a monthly nurse or midwife and a doctor, the fees of these latter being paid out of charitable or public funds for poor relief; or else by her free admission to a public lying-in hospital. In many countries, the _Krankenkassen_[4] support women (in most cases only women employed in factories and workshops) for some weeks after delivery, and provide for the free attendance of doctor and monthly nurse or midwife. (_b_) It is necessary that unmarried mothers should be legally compelled to arrange for the attendance of a midwife or medical practitioner, and, on the other hand, that the services of these should be provided for unmarried mothers in childbirth. Of course, it would be going too far to insist that unmarried mothers, or other persons who are aware of their condition, should, under heavy penalties, notify the local authorities of the state of affairs. Although such a provision does exist in the legal system of several countries, it is unworkable in practice. (_c_) With regard to provision for proper midwifery attendance in thinly-populated districts, what is needed is a proper organisation of the services of medical practitioners or midwives in such a way that these are equitably distributed throughout the country in proportion to population, and so that in every local governmental area there shall be at least one midwife and one doctor. The proper training of midwives is a matter of great importance, but, above all, a midwife should understand that at the least sign of danger it is her duty to send for a doctor. It is also a matter of great importance that all medical practitioners should have an adequate training in midwifery.