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129
The number of new patients attending at the Western Clinic is
rather lower than last year, and so are the total attendances of old
cases. The number of new cases at the Eastern Clinic shows a very
slight decrease. The number of births in the Borough was 1,073 in
1925 as against 1,186 in 1924. As 266 women had attended the
Clinics altogether, we find that nearly a quarter of the expectant
mothers in Hampstead had availed themselves of the ante-natal treatment
provided by the Borough Council.
The number of infantile deaths occurring in the first three
months of life has been 40 in 1925. Those deaths are more or less
attributable to ante-natal causes. In only 7 of these cases had the
mothers attended the Clinic beforehand. One infant died of pneumococcal
peritonitis at 2 months. Two others (triplets) died in the first
month of life. I do not think that anything could have prevented
these deaths. Then there were two cases of marasmus who died at 7
and 8 weeks respectively. In one of these we had done nearly everything,
I think, to help the underfed and debilitated mother beforehand
with extra nourishment and treatment. In the other case the mother
had had placenta prævia and the child had been born very prematurclv,
and this fact must have contributed to the sad result. Then there was
an infant who had died of whooping cough and pneumonia at 2
months of age, and there again I think that the fact of its prematurity
must have contributed to the early death. I had advised the mother
to have induction of premature labour done as she had a contracted
pelvis, and gave a history of six previous instrumental labours. The
induction was carried out accordingly at a hospital. In the last case
death occurred in the first month of life, owing to prematurity. The
mother had only once attended the Clinic.
The four cases of valvular heart disease have all done well up to
date. Two of them were sent into the private ward at New End
Hospital for their confinements. In one case where a failure of
compensation occurred in the third month of pregnancy, I sent her
into the Hampstead General Hospital for a three weeks' rest and she
made a good recovery subsequently. She is still under my care, as the
baby is not expected until July next. This case illustrates the
importance of ante-natal care in the early mouths of pregnancy.
In the two cases of phlebitis we made every effort to get them into
New End Hospital for a rest, but it was not possible for cither mother to
leave her family. So it was arranged with the Jubilee Nurses to
attend them at home, and they each rested as much as possible.