On the Systematic Use of Antiseptics in Midwifery Practice

deaths continue in their present ratio to be, as they are, the reproach of our art. Attempts more or less successful to prevent them by means of antiseptics are not new. Already the literature on antiseptics in midwifery, although not so bulky as in surgery, is yet by no means inconsiderable. Antiseptics and disinfectants have long been employed in obstetric practice; but of recent years, since the introduction of antiseptics by Mr Lister into surgical practice, much greater attention has been paid to their systematic use in our department. In Copenhagen, Germany, in Switzerland, especially Basel, in Paris, in London, antiseptic precautions have been employed to ward off what is the scourge of our lying-in hospitals. It is at least twelve years since Bischoff, impressed with a visit