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maternity and child welfare committee and the diet of the poorer expectant mother has been
studied with regard to its sufficiency in the essential elements necessary to maintain good health.
It was concluded that a perfectly balanced diet should result in improved maternal health at the time
of the confinement with a reduction in puerperal sepsis, less subsequent debility and a decrease in
the number of artificially fed infants, whilst the physique of the child was likely to be improved and its
resistance to rickets and other diseases and infections increased. The various elements in an average
diet were discussed and it was decided to supplement the free milk already granted to necessitous
expectant mothers by an adequate supply of capsules of a vitamin A and D preparation and of iron
when this appears to the medical officers to be desirable.
In April, 1935, at the request of the Raymede centre committee, the council assumed
financial responsibility and control of the Sutton Trust infant welfare centre which had become
too large to be carried on as a branch centre. This arrangement, which was in the first instance a
temporary one, was made permanent at the end of nine months as no voluntary committee was
formed to undertake the financial administration of the centre. Fortunately, the municipal control
of this centre does not entail any severance from the voluntary assistance for which Kensington has
always been noted as, although the council will be responsible for the administrative control of the
centre, a voluntary committee has been formed, the members of which are assisting at the sessions
and continuing to supply the social side of the maternity and child welfare work which is of
such great value.
The premises which were originally occupied by the Sutton Trust centre having become
inadequate for the increasing number of mothers and children attending the sessions, an arrangement
has been made by the council by which new and satisfactory accommodation for the infant welfare
centre has been obtained in the new community centre building which will very shortly be ready for
occupation.
Towards the end of 1934, Mrs. Sidney Brown generously presented the freehold premises of
No. 28b, Archer Street, and No. 10, Redcliffe Street to the borough council for use in their maternity
and child welfare scheme. The former premises are now being employed for ante-natal, postnatal
and schick-testing clinics. They also serve as the headquarters of the medical officers engaged
in the maternity and child welfare work in the borough, and patients needing advice in cases of
emergency can be seen here any day. The premises are convenient of access to all parts of the borough
and are proving most suitable for the purposes for which they are employed. The South Kensington
infant welfare centre has been transferred to No. 10, Redcliffe Street, from No. 5, Warwick Road,
and the new premises are proving much more commodious and better suited to their purpose than the
former headquarters of the centre.
Midwifery Arrangements.
The maternity arrangements in the borough form a comprehensive scheme whereby complete
facilities are provided for both hospital and domiciliary care, and every woman is able to obtain the
services of a trained midwife at her confinement irrespective of her financial means.
Ante-Natal Services.
The co-ordinating mechanism of the council's scheme is the ante-natal clinic through which the
patient is brought into touch with those services which would be of benefit to her. It is becoming
the routine for expectant mothers in Kensington to attend one of the nine ante-natal clinics in the
borough at the first sign of pregnancy, and this is a most desirable development. The evening clinic
renders it possible for any patient to be under regular ante-natal supervision whilst she is still at work.
Education can thus be started at the earliest possible moment and the patient is assisted by expert
advice in making the best arrangements for her confinement. Each case is considered on its merits,
and a private doctor, midwife, voluntary or London county council hospital or the borough maternity
home is recommended according to the circumstances; the only factor considered is the welfare of the
patient. The value of this advice by an unbiassed expert, who is assisted by a report on the home
conditions, is obvious and the spirit in which the ante-natal service is conducted is becoming appreciated
by the local doctors, midwives and hospitals. The co-operation between all of these and the
clinics is steadily becoming closer and more harmonious.
Hospital Accommodation.
The borough council maternity home at Invermead has had a record year with regard to the
number of admissions and is increasingly popular with the patients, many of whom are returning
to the home for their second confinements.
Many women have been admitted to the maternity wards of St. Mary Abbots Hospital and the
Princess Beatrice Hospital, which are situated within the borough, and others have been delivered in
Queen Charlotte's Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, St. George's Hospital and other maternity institutions.
The borough is well served in respect of easily accessible hospital accommodation, and no difficulty
has ever been experienced in securing admission of any patient when this is desirable. Both voluntary
and London county council hospitals have co-operated with the borough ante-natal clinics in allowing
their patients to be supervised by the ante-natal medical officer, thus sparing these women the long
journey to hospital and subsequent wait in a crowded out-patient department, and this is much
appreciated by the patients. Ready and helpful assistance in ante-natal treatment has been given
by the obstetric staff of Queen Charlotte's Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital whenever requested by
the ante-natal medical officer, and the gynaecological clinic at the North Kensington Women's Welfare
Centre in Telford Road has proved a most useful ancillary service in the cure of septic conditions
before the confinement.