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17
Section II—MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
The statistics for the year in regard to births and deaths of infants will be found on pages
10 14 of this Report. The number of births in 1921 numbered 4,764, a reduction of 20 per cent,
on the number born in 1920. This has shown itself in a decline in the number of young babies
who have been brought to the infant welfare centres.
The borough scheme for Maternity and Child Welfare includes the following activities :—
(a) The dispatch by post of cards of advice to the individual mothers immediately
after the receipt of the notification of birth required by law.
(b) The home visitation of expectant and nursing mothers and babies by the
Council's staff of health visitors, who work from the Town Hall and from
the Centres.
(c) The provision and maintenance of thirteen Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.
These centres are partly maintained on a voluntary basis, but the whole of
the professional staff (medical officers and health visitors) are paid and controlled
by the Council, who also pay the rent, rates and taxes of the centre premises.
(d) The provision of a clinic for ailing mothers and young children, the expenses
being borne partly municipally and partly from voluntary funds.
(e) The provision of a municipal dental clinic for mothers and young children.
(/) The subsidisation of a Home for ailing young children.
(g) The supply of milk free or at reduced price for necessitous mothers (nursing
or expectant) and young children; and the subsidisation of a voluntary fund
for the provision of cheap dinners for such persons.
(h) The subsidisation of a voluntary fund for the provision of Home Helps.
(i) The subsidisation of the four voluntary Day Nurseries in the borough.
(j) The subsidisation of voluntary agencies providing intern and extern midwifery
for St. Pancras women free or at reduced fees.
(Jc) The payment for the home nursing of sick infants in certain cases.
The work done in 1921 in connection with the scheme will now be referred to in detail:—
Advice Cards.—Besides the posting of cards of advice to the mothers of all infants
whose births have been notified, cards of advice to expectant mothers have been distributed
through University College Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, the Maternity Nursing Association,
and other agencies.
Home Visiting.—This has been done by the health visitors at the Town Hall and by the
Council's staff of health visitors at the Centres, who visit the mothers attending the Centres
and also such notified births as are referred to them by the Medical Officer of Health.
The Town Hall infant visitors include two full-time health visitors and two who are
health visitors as to half their time, as well as one other health visitor who devotes her time
primarily to the visiting of cases of measles. These ladies in 1921 made 3,182 visits to 1,178
infants (apart from visits made to cases of measles and for other special purposes). They also
made 447 visits to 205 expectant mothers whose names had been supplied by University College
and Middlesex Hospitals.
The Council's visitors at the Infant Welfare Centres numbered 19 full-time workers
and one part-time, who divided their time between the necessary work in the centres and homevisiting.
In addition there was one full-time voluntary (unpaid) trained worker at the Argyle
Square group of centres, and two part-time trained volunteers (unpaid) at Chalton Street, in
addition to two visitors (working in neighbouring boroughs as well as St. Pancras) at the
University College Hospital Centre, whose salaries were paid by the hospital and not by the
(10495) c