Mrs Purser gives a personal account of her experiences in 'Being Me and Also Us' (by Allison Stallibrass):

"Now we come to the crunch - our family consultation. My husband's results were perfect, he was a thoroughly healthy man. But me - down the list went Dr Pearse - low blood count, lack of calcium etc, etc. it was obvious to me, that having been seriously ill when I was 21, now, at 25, I had been cured of the actual disease, but I had little or no health; 'devitalised' Dr Pearse called my condition. And so, after many more questions to the Doctors, it was agreed we should not start a family until I was at my peak. Until then I would be fitted with a contraceptive cap.

The doctors explained that it was not their intention to treat disorder; on the other hand, their research would be affected, unless mothers-to-be, (and indeed the fathers) were in good health when conception took place.

So for a year I attended the Medical Department, all the necessary things were fed to me. I watched my diet, made my own bread from stone ground flour, and when possible, purchased food grown at the Centre farm. To our delight, our second family consultation was very different from the first, and the Doctors said, 'Go ahead and start a family'.

A few months went by with no signs of pregnancy, so again I was taken in hand, and eventually one lovely day, never to be forgotten, an examination confirmed my pregnancy - Dr Pearse and I actually danced round the examination bed….

During the pregnancy I flitted in and out of the babies' and toddlers' nursery, discussed clothes with the sister in charge, and was allowed to handle the babies and help with odd jobs. This was tremendous, as I came from a small family, and had had no babies or young children around me. So, when my baby was born, no difficulties or terrors. Over the years I have seen young mothers terrified of handling their babies, and panic setting in when something was wrong."

Margaret Nash recalled her experience in the same book:

"Once I became pregnant, the Centre really came into its own. We had had a pre-marital consultation with the doctors, and then a pre-natal one. Dr Pearse sent me to Mrs Collins for advice on baby clothes. She supplied us with the Dayella to get cracking making nighties and smocked dresses for the new infant. This was not my strong point, so I took my mother along to Mrs Collins' classes hoping to shelve some of this job - but in the end I did do it all myself and mother did dressmaking for herself." (Baby clothes were not readily available in post-war Britain!)