also advisable that intelligent women should possess some knowledge
of the Reproductive Process in human beings. This information is
imparted by Doctor Slemons' book, which I can thoroughly recommend to
prospective mothers. The subject matter has been carefully chosen,
and the author has wisely refrained from giving advice with regard to
treatment which can be satisfactorily directed only after careful
study by a physician. At the same time he has given a clear account
of the physiology of pregnancy and labor, and has laid down sound
rules for the guidance of the patient.

One of the most important facts emphasized by Doctor Slemons is the
value of medical supervision for several weeks after the child is
born; this precaution contributes greatly toward a rapid and complete
convalescence. During the lying-in period the physician should
supervise the care of the mother and the child, should insist upon
the necessity for maternal nursing, and should keep the mother under
observation until perfectly normal conditions are regained. If the
latter duty is conscientiously fulfilled many years of invalidism may
be saved and thousands of operations rendered unnecessary.

Although there have been notable advances in the science and in the
art of obstetrics since the middle of the eighteenth century, a great
many fundamental facts must yet be learned. For example, we are
almost totally ignorant of the stimulus which causes the mother to
fall into labor approximately 280 days after the last normal
menstruation.

There are two points which I desire to impress especially upon the
readers of this book. Firstly, that the advance of the science of
obstetrics, and consequently improvements in its practice, must