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51
consultations soon after delivery so that the habit of regarding
the Centre as the place for help and advice for the family is
being formed. The attendances at the two afternoon sessions
held weekly at this branch Centre have remained steady. A
considerable number of children have been transferred to the
main Centre at Cornwall Road for attendance at the breast
feeding, sunlight and other special clinics as occasion arises.
It is satisfactory to report that attendances at these clinics by
families living in the area supplied by the Hereford Street
Centre have been good in spite of the journey involved.
An increasing proportion of mothers (most of those who
are delivered in institutions) do not attend, however, until
after the child is two months old and possibly, if this critical
stage of infancy is safely passed, not at all. Hospitals in the
neighbourhood seem in most cases to have their own infant
welfare clinics to which the mothers are invited on their
discharge after delivery. Taking these facts into account and
adding to them over 100 families that records show to have
removed from the borough this year, the year's work at this
Centre may be regarded as satisfactory.
TODDLERS' CLINIC.
During the year, there were 44 sessions for the
medical inspection of toddlers. 368 children were
inspected, of whom 286 were found to require treatment
of some kind.
Dr. Horton reports
This clinic is slowly establishing itself in spite of the
difficulty that many mothers find in coming to the Centre on
Monday mornings. The average attendance is greater than
last year, 45 mothers who had never attended the Centre
before bringing their children for examination. In many cases
the interval between the last attendance at the Centre and the
attendance at the Toddlers' Clinic was a long one, due to the
advent of yet another new baby in that time. The weighing,
measuring and examination of these children is no easy matter
and the greatest care is taken to ensure not only that the
mother is satisfied with the result of her effort in attending,
but that the reaction of the children themselves shall be a
happy one. In consequence only a small number of children
can be dealt with at one session.
Records show that more girls attended than boys and
their average weights and heights compared with a standard
in age groups show that up to 3 years the boys' weights compare
favourably with the standard but in the 4-year age group