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This has been done : the hospitals with one
exception have accepted the offer of
co-operation.
(e) That the services of the Obstetric Consultants
on the Council's panel be made available,
when approved by the Medical Officer of
Health, in any special difficulty or emergency
arising in the course of pregnancy or during
the puerperium and that local medical practitioners
be notified accordingly.
This has been done.
(f) That the services of the Home Helps be made
available to mothers who are confined in
hospital or who are taken ill during pregnancy
or shortly after confinement.
This has been done.
(g) That a suitable poster be issued drawing
attention to the Council's maternity and child
welfare services.
This has been done.
In connection with the preparation of this report
some statistics were obtained from other London
Boroughs with regard to their maternity and child
welfare services. Much of this information was of
value especially in its indication of the relative
need for more welfare centres and sessions in the
Borough. But the enquiry also revealed the fact
that equally important figures were not available
owing to the absence of proper co-ordination between
the various public and private agencies dealing with
maternal and child welfare. To take one practical
illustration, it is practically impossible at present
for any Medical Officer of Health to state precisely
what amount of ante-natal care the expectant
mothers in his district are receiving. The best he can
do is to make an estimate based partly on fact and