From the Editor-continued
Abstract
From the Editor-continued SAGE Publications, Inc.1979DOI: 10.1177/001789697903800407 are inaccessible, open at times when working women cannot attend them, run a waiting list or, when they are attended, dispense conveyor belt processing in which the human touch has little part to play? The Spastics Society (and they are not alone in this) claim that antenatal clinics "provide the grimmest view of our maternity services." This view, they say, reflects that of some 1800 mothers who contributed to a con- sumer's guide to 300 maternity hospitals. It may be, of course, that the sheer weight of numbers precludes desirable personal service (in which case what would happen if they were put to maximum use by all those currently staying away?). Nevertheless, if this is an accurate picture of ante- natal care in the country, then it is little wonder that so many women present themselves late or not at all, or do not attend regularly. There is clearly no one easily identifiable reason for non-attendance and no simple solution to the problem of how to improve the take-up of the services. But it is quite obvious that there are major deficiencies in our system of care before birth. According to