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The number of births attended in the district by midwives
who gave notice of their intention to practise was 1,494. In 933
cases the midwife was in attendance as a midwife and in the
remaining 561 as a maternity nurse. Of the confinements occurring
in private houses in the district 1,088 were attended by local
midwives whose practice is limited to domiciliary work (848 as
midwives and 240 as maternity nurses) and 41 by midwives from
adjoining areas (30 as midwives and 11 as maternity nurses).
At the end of the year there were in practice 3 independent
midwives carrying on a domiciliary service, these between them
attending 13 cases during the vear.

Of the 255 summonses to medical practitioners, 37 were on
account of some condition during pregnancy, 65 during labour,
111 in the lying-in period, and 42 some abnormality of the infant.
Of the 37 summonses to a patient during pregnancy 16 were
because of albuminuria, oedema, or toxaemia, and 12 because of
haemorrhage.
Of the 65 summonses to a patient during labour the reason
given in 40 instances was delayed labour with cause unspecified.
In a further 15 there was some abnormal presentation, and 3 were
on account of foetal distress. Four summonses were to patients
suffering from abortion (actual or threatened).
81 of the 111 summonses to patients in the puerperium were on
account of rupture of the perineum. Post-partum haemorrhage,
with or without adherence of the placenta, was the reason in 13,
a raised temperature in 7, and phlebitis a further 7 cases.
Of the 42 summonses to infants 12 were on account of some
discharge from the eye, 19 because of feebleness or asphyxia, and
some other abnormal state or condition in 11.
MIDWIFERY SERVICE.
The number of patients attended by the Council's midwives
was 835 in which they acted as midwives, and 237 in which they
acted as maternity nurses. This figure of 1,072 is an increase on
that of 922 in the previous year.