HC Deb 05 December 1946 vol 431 cc117-8W
28. Mr. Sorensen

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider further steps both to promote the use of analgesia in childbirth and to ensure that the necessary apparatus will be available to all women at the time of childbirth

Mr. Bevan

The output of the necessary apparatus is rapidly increasing. The real difficulty is that there are not enough midwives trained to use it. The administration of analgesia is now part of the course of all pupil midwives, but there is still a serious shortage in the number of recruits.