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14
Maternity and Child Welfare.
The following is a brief resume of the work and statistics during
the period 1st January to 4th July, 1948, after which date control passed
to the London County Council.
Maternity and Child Welfare Districts and Centres.
For administrative purposes, the Borough was divided into fourteen
districts, for each of which a Health Visitor was responsible.
There were, at the 4th July, seven Maternity and Child Welfare
centres (municipal, 6; voluntary, 1). The situation and times of
opening of the centres, municipal and voluntary, and the work carried
out thereat, are set out in the tables on page 15.
At each of the municipal centres a clinic was held twice weekly,
with a Medical Officer in attendance, as shewn in the table on page 15.
Each centre was under the supervision of a trained Health Visiitor,
and voluntary helpers assisted in the work. The voluntary centre was
conducted on similar lines to those of the municipal centres.
Mothercraft Classes.
Instruction in mothercraft was given weekly at 5 centres, the
average attendance being respectively :—
Gideon Road 13.2
Nine Elms 11.4
Plough Road 20.5
Southlands 18.4
Women's League of
Service (Southlands)
14.0
In total there were 143 meetings with a total attendance of 2,209.
giving an average 15.4 attendances per session.
Voluntary Centres.
Women's League of Service.—The Battersea centre of this League
(formerly held at 111 Bridge Road West) was established in 1911
and was transferred to Southlands in 1928.
The district served by the League is a populous one adjoining'
the Thames, and situate between Battersea Bridge Road and Battersea
High Strteet. A qualified Health Visitor (Miss F. Pethybridge)
undertook the usual duties of a Health Visitor within the district.
The Centre was carried on as an integral part of the Council's
Maternity and Child Welfare scheme, and the Council made a grant
of £143 12s. 6d. towards the expenses.
An important feature of the work of the League was the provision
of dinners for nursing and expectant mothers and children at a
minimum charge or free. Although provided mainly for residents in
the League's district, mothers and children from other parts of the
Borough were, in suitable cases, sent to the dining rooms and supplied
with dinners.
3,037 women and 2,956 children were supplied with dinners on
the 123 days on which the Centre was open for this purpose.