electing the place of confinement, the question of the nurse
may next be considered. If it is to be the hospital, you need give
little further thought to the nurse, for your physician will arrange
for the nurse at the time you enter the hospital. She will be a part
of the complete service you may enjoy. You will find her on duty as
you, quietly resting in your room, awaken in the sweet satisfaction
that at last it is all over--at last your baby is here.

A competent nurse is a necessity, if the confinement takes place in
the home. She may be a visiting nurse, who, for a small fee, will not
only come on the day of labor, but will make what is known as
"post-partum calls" each day for ten or twelve days. These are short
calls, but are long enough to clean up the mother and wash and dress
the babe. She is not supposed to prepare any meals or care for the
home. Then there is the practical nurse--women who have prepared
themselves along these lines of nursing, whose fees range from $12.00
to $18.00 a week. If your physician recommends one to you, you may
know she is clean and dependable. The trained nurse, who has graduated
from a three years' course of training, is prepared for every
emergency, and will intelligently work with the physician for the
patient's welfare and comfort. Her fees range from $25.00 to $35.00 a
week.

Both the practical and the trained nurses are human beings, and
require rest and sleep the same as all other women do. One nurse,
after having faithfully remained at her post of duty some sixty hours
reminded the husband and sister of the patient that she must now have
five hours of unbroken rest and they replied in a most surprised
manner, "Why we are paying you $30.00 a week, and besides, we
understood you were a _trained_ nurse."

The physician usually makes arrangement with the family for competent
relief for the nurse. She should have at least one to two hours of
each day for an airing, and six hours out of the twenty-four for
sleep.

PREPARATIONS FOR A HOME DELIVERY

The supplies should all be in the home and ready, as the seventh month
of pregnancy draws near. In the first place, select the drawer or
closet shelf where the supplies are to remain, untouched, until your
physician orders them brought out. The supplies requiring special
preparation and sterilization are:

Three pounds of absorbent cotton.
One large package of sterile gauze (25 yards).
Four rolls of cotton batting.