ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author, Arthur Newsholme, recollects and reflects upon his experiences in public health. The author emphasises the principle that the health of the infant and of the young child depends on the health of the expectant mother and of the mother in the early years of the child's life. The Act of 1902 created a Central Midwives Board, to keep a roll of certified midwives, and regulate the conditions of their certification and practice; and entrusted to Local Supervising Authorities, who were the Councils of Counties and County Boroughs, the local supervision of midwives within their area. The author presents a study of puerperal mortality in his annual report. The conclusions of his annual report based on maternal mortality in connection with childbearing included valuable reports by medical members. This report to the Local Government Board drew attention to the fact that already midwives attended three-fourths of the total births in England and Wales.
