View report page

75
Midwives Ante-natal Clinics
This service suffered during the year owing to the shortage of midwives
in Hornsey. An appointment has now been made and the
position restored. The following table shows the attendances made
at all clinics during the year:—

Health Teaching
Groups for relaxation exercises and mothercraft are held at special
sessions at all except two maternity and child welfare clinics. The
groups are intentionally small so that they are informal and in order
that health visitors who give the instruction and demonstrations and
lead discussion can give individual attention to members of each group.
A film strip projector and film strips were purchased to give greater
variety to the methods used. This additional visual aid has promoted
considerable interest amongst the mothers attending the centres.
The value of relaxation exercises for expectant mothers has been
generally accepted as being of considerable help to the mother during
her delivery if they have been practised during the ante-natal period.
That the mothers themselves both appreciate the teaching of relaxation
and benefit from it is disclosed by the large number of mothers who
have orally expressed their gratitude and recognition of the benefit
that these classes has given to them. Many, too, have written to health
visitors in similar terms. An extract from one of these illustrates these
points: "Now that the great event is over I should very much like to
tell you how helpful I found the Relaxation classes. Comparing this
confinement with my first I find there is no real comparison, because
this one was so simple and the other so awful. The difference, I believe,
was largely due to the knowledge you gave us and to the exercises".
These classes are available to all expectant mothers including those
who are in receipt of ante-natal care by hospitals and family doctors.