View report page

61
Health Visitor until the condition clears up, and her
reports most thoroughly scrutinized, the object being
the prevention of any risk of blindness resulting. The
Health Visitors paid 77 visits to cases.
In addition to the foregoing formal notifications of
Ophthalmia Neonatorum, 46 reports were received from
Medical Officers of the London County Council concerning
new born babies suffering from inflammation of the
eyes. These cases were also visited by the Health
Visitors. The district nurses treated 13 cases of discharging
eyes in young infants, paying 202 visits for
the purpose.
STILLBIRTHS.
Inquiry was made into 68 stillbirths reported during
the year, and some information relating to most of
them was obtained. In 23 cases the mother was
reported to have been engaged in industrial employment
during pregnancy. The health of the mothers was
reported on as follows:—Good 44; Fair 12; Bad 9, and
the following complications of pregnancy were noted:
Albuminuria 4; Ante-partum Haemorrhage 6; Kidney
Disease 2; Influenza 2; Pneumonia 2; Bronchitis,
Diabetes, Carious Teeth, Smallpox, 1 each.
The period of gestation was normal in 36 cases, but
was only seven to eight months in 13 cases and eight
to nine months in 15 cases, while in two eases it was
given as hyper - normal. Labour varied greatly in
duration, being less than six hours in 14 cases, six to
twelve hours in 18 cases, twelve to eighteen hours in
12 cases, eighteen to twenty-four hours in 3 cases,
twenty-four hours in 2 cases, and in thirty hours there
was one case, while there were cases with a labour given
as long as two, three and four days, and one case simply
marked as "long."