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14
(5) Creches (Day Nurseries).
In addition to the Kingsway Creche mentioned above, there are also the
following Day Nurseries in the Borough:—St. John's, Fisher Street, Red Lion
Square; Field Lane Institution, Vine Street, Clerkenwell Boad; St. Alban's, 8,
Greville Street, Brooke Street.
All but the last-named applied to the Board of Education for grants, and in
accordance with the requirements of that Board in connection therewith, I
inspected the same and gave certificates as desired.
(6) Dinner Tickets for Poor, Deserving Mothers.
In order to encourage the continuance of breast feeding by poor deserving
mothers, Councillor Walter Hazell, J.P., has for some years arranged to pay for
dinner tickets to enable such mothers to obtain a sixpenny dinner at a restaurant
in the Borough.
On account of the opening of the invalid kitchen in connection with the
Holborn Maternity Centre only 18 such tickets were made use of last year.
(.7) Ante Natal Work.
Notification of, and Classes for, Expectant Mothers.
As a large number of the mothers of the Borough are attended by the
Maternity Departments of the five large hospitals in the neighbourhood of the
Borough, in the latter part of the year 1914, I wrote to the secretaries of those
hospitals to know whether they would be prepared to co-operate with this Council
respecting the home visiting of expectant mothers by kindly furnishing a weekly
list of such cases belonging to this Borough.
Although four of the hospitals had agreed to this co-operation, and printed
forms for the purpose had been supplied, I only received weekly lists from the
University College Hospital. Changes and reduction of staff due to the War has
interfered with the work, and at the Royal Free Hospital, the Maternity Wards,
which were nearly completed at my visit when arrangements were made in
January, 1915, were soon afterwards used for wounded soldiers.
Direct information of such cases is often obtained by the Health Visitor.
Classes for expectant mothers were introduced at the School for Mothers,
Passmore Edward's Settlement, and at the Holborn Maternity Centre.