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(42)
of a Maternity Nurse. I was instructed to report to the Committee
on the advisability of paying such a grant. The proposal
of the St. Olave's District Nursing Association was that a qualified
Maternity Nurse should be appointed to attend confinement
cases in company with a medical man or in conjunction with a
senior student working in connection with the Guy's Charity.
It was definitely understood that the Maternity Nurse, although
qualified to do so, should not attend cases as a midwife.
In preparing my report I had to consider carefully, the whole
question of the midwifery service at present available in this
Borough.
For the purpose of confinement the prospective mother has
one of two alternatives. She may decide to enter hospital or
she may desire to have the baby born at home. The total number
of births in 1928 was 2,086, and with regard to hospital cases I
have to submit the following figures for the year 1928:—

If the mother decides to have the baby at home the arrangements
made may fall into any one of the four following groups.
The mother may be attended by:-
(1) A general practitioner and a handy woman.
(2) A general practitioner and a qualified maternity nurse.
(3) A midwife with or without a handy woman.
(4) A senior student in connection with Guy's Charity.
With regard to (1), (2) and (3) I have been unable to obtain
definite figures as to the number of mothers so attended.
Under heading (4) I am informed that 1,018 Bermondsey
women were confined in connection with Guy's Charity during
1928, and that the maternal mortality rate of all cases treated by
the hospital including both in-patients and cases on the district
was .56 per 1,000.