Some years ago, on the basis of two more or less accidental observations, I began to question whether the time-honored practice of absolute rest in bed following an abdominal section was really in the best interests of the patient. The first observation concerned the excellent healing of wounds and the low incidence of postoperative complications in children, in spite of the fact that they are never restrained after operation and that their movements, from the moment of their recovery from anesthesia, sometimes approach violence. The second had to do with the similarly excellent healing of wounds in animals submitted to abdominal section for various experimental procedures; in most instances complications of the wounds were notably absent, and I have observed and, on inquiry, could learn of no instance of disruption of a wound under these circumstances. As the result of these observations I undertook a review of the literature dealing