When you engage her, — which should be at least two months before the expected time, — stipulate the price, and make every condition clear and unmistakable. She should be ready to attend two or three weeks before the anticipated event.
THE ROOM
Should be a spacious and well-ventilated one. If possible, it should have a southern exposure. Let it be remote from the noise of the street or the house. If there is a bath or dressing room attached to it, so much the better. Keep no soiled clothes in it during sickness. One bed, one washstand, wardrobe, bureau, and two or three chairs, is all the furniture needed; any more would be in the way, unless the room is unusually large.
THE BED
Should be a double one, in good order, on castors. The spring mattress is the best: hair and cotton come next. Feather-mattresses are inconvenient, too warm, and should be avoided. The sheets should be of cotton, unless it is in the midst of summer, or in a hot climate. During labor, the patient should lie on the right side of the bed. This position will place the patient on the right side of the physician. Attention to this will prevent a change of side when the physician arrives.
For labor, the bed should be prepared as follows: Fold the lower sheet so that it will not come below the waist of the patient, with the end towards the hips, so that it can be grasped and pulled down after delivery.
Cover the mattress, from the waist down, with an im- pervious material, — a piece of India-rubber or oil-cloth. Over it place a thick cover — a blanket or sheet folded sev-
