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Midwifery and Home Nursing
The number of domiciliary confinements in the Borough attended by
the County Council's midwives was 212, 118 in their capacity as midwife
and 94 as maternity nurse. Of this total 139 received gas and air analgesia,
a Percentage of 65.5.
Puerperal Pyrexia Regulations, 1951
During the year 78 cases of puerperal pyrexia were notified, 76 of
them following hospital confinement, and 2 domiciliary. This figure of 78
gives a notification rate of 102.5 for the Borough as compared to 17.87 for
England and Wales.
The discrepancy here shown is not considered to be of any great
significance. Very many of the notifications under the above regulations
were in respect of raised temperatures caused by conditions such as colds
and influenza which have no connection with child bearing.
It should be pointed out, also, that this notification rate does not
present a true picture of the position so far as it affects the residents of the
Borough, for 36 of these cases occurred in patients who reside outside the
Borough but whose confinement took place in a hospital within the Borough.
The regulations provide that the notification must be accepted by the
Authority in whose area the hospital is situated, since the disease occurs at
that address. So far as residents of this district are concerned, 42 cases
occurred, which would produce a true notification rate to residents, per 1,000
total births, of 55.06.
Maternal Mortality
One death occurred as a result of pregnancy, child-bearing or associtherewith
and is referred to in Section A of this report.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum
Two cases of ophthalmia neonatorum occurred in the Borough during
The year 1952.
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