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32
General Observations on the Work of the Infant Welfare Centres.
Infant Consultation Sessions are held by medical officers in all Centres in the afternoons fronr
2 to 4 p.m. At the Lancaster Road Centre there is a session held on Thursday mornings from
10 a.m. to 12 noon. At four Centres there are two sessions per week; at two Centres three
sessions per week; and at Bramley Road there are three in addition to the weekly session at the
Branch in Kenley Street. The Centres are in every case fortunate in having very able and keen
medical officers who show considerable interest in their work.
Special Ante-natal Sessions are held at all except the Golborne Centre where expectant
mothers are seen privately on infant consultation days. The work of ante-natal consultations is
growing as it becomes better known amongst mothers, and, in view of the excellent arrangements
made by the Voluntary Committees, it is to be hoped that mothers will take full advantage ot
them, and thus remove as far as possible all danger of disease and accident in their
confinements.
Home Visiting.—Before the Maternity and- Child Welfare work in the Borough was
co-ordinated, overlapping in home visiting by the workers of the Municipal and Voluntary
bodies occurred, but since the inauguration of the present system, this waste of effort and
source of annoyance to parents has been completely avoided.
The Council's Women Health Officers receive all notifications of birth, and these are
transferred to History Cards. They pay "first visits" to infants in order to ascertain certain
information required by the Council in respect of births. If the mother of the child is in
regular attendance at an Infant Welfare Centre, the Hsalth Officer transfers the History Card
to the Welfare Sister who pays the subsequent home visits. Apart from "first visits," the
Council's Health Officer confines her attention to cases not in attendance at Welfare Centres or to
difficult cases transferred back to her by the Welfare Sister.
Dental Treatment.—All the Infant Welfare Centres provide dental treatment (including
the supply of dentures) for expectant and nursing mothers who are unable to pay the fees
usually charged by private dentists.
Each Welfare Centre endeavours, as far as possible, to make the scheme of dental treatment
practically self-supporting by charging such fees as the mothers can pay and by obtaining the
dentures at a very low rate.
Although the dentures are generally not more than £4 to £5 for a complete set, they are
very well made and give considerable satisfaction.

† These figures represent the number of times gas was administered and not the number of teeth extracted.
Details Concerning Individual Centres.
Archer Street Infant Welfare Centre.
This Centre serves the southern part of the Pembridge Ward. Infant consultations are heid
by the Medical Officer on two afternoons in each week and ante-natal and dental clinics are each
held twice monthly. In addition to these activities a Sewing Class is held weekly and there are
Boot, Clothing, Blanket, Maternity and Denture Clubs connected with the institution.
The lease of the premises on the south side of Archer Street, which had been occupied since
the Centre opened, came to an end in the summer, and new accommodation was secured on the
opposite side of the street. The new Centre building is much more satisfactory in every way. The
building has been purchased by Mrs. Sidney G. Brown, the Chairman of the Committee, who has
spent a considerable sum of money in adapting it for its present use. During the interval between
the closing of the old Centre and the opening of the new one the work was carried out at "The
Venture," in Portobello Road.
The total attendances of mothers during the year 1924 were 734, and those of children were
3,338.