ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the circumstances of medical work in Sweden. Sweden was the pioneer of official vital statistics, and it now has the longest series of figures giving statistics of marriages, births, and deaths of its population possessed by any community. Sweden has adopted the principle of treatment at the public expense of venereal disease in its contagious stages, irrespective of financial status. The majority of women resort to hospitals for childbearing. In municipal hospitals all are attended by fully trained midwives, and at home, nearly all. The training both of midwives and of medical students in midwifery is exceptionally good. The records of puerperal mortality are much lower than in most countries. Every commune is required to form a child welfare board, one of whose duties is to care for foster-children. Private Doctors make no objection to the venereal polyclinics. There are over two hundred tuberculosis dispensaries in Sweden, which are supported by the county or communal councils.
