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79
St. Giles' Centre, Short's Gardens.

The total number of attendances made by the Health Visitors at the Municipal
Centres in 1931 was 474, and in addition Health Visitor students made 240
attendances at the Municipal Centres.
At the Holborn Centre, No. 10, John Street, 5,085 attendances were made by
226 mothers and 71 expectant mothers, and 518 children, of whom 224 were under
one year, 100 between one and two years old, and 194 aged 2-5 years on the date
of their first attendance.
At the St. Giles' Centre, Short's Gardens, 748 attendances were made by 55
mothers and 83 children, of whom 39 were under one year, 14 from one to two
years and 30 between two and five years.
Ante-natal Hygiene.
Under the scheme for the voluntary notification of pregnancy which came into
force in January, 1928, 81 voluntary notifications were received during 1931 as
compared with 81 in 1930. All these expectant mothers, as well as those already
known to the Health Visitors through other sources, were visited in their homes
and informed, both verbally and by means of a leaflet, of the special facilities
available in Holborn; they also received instruction in the hygiene of pregnancy,
and if not already in attendance at an ante-natal centre they were advised to
attend.
Confinement in Institutions in Relation to Housing Conditions.
Expectant mothers whose home circumstances make confinement at home
especially undesirable are advised to enter hospital for confinement. In order to
provide accommodation for those who are willing to take this advice an arrangement
has been made with one of the principal Maternity Hospitals within reach
of Holborn to accept normal cases on social grounds only.
Special records have been kept of the home conditions of 149 expectant
mothers visited during 1931, each case being followed up either to a successful
issue or until it became clear that the woman would not enter hospital.
* As from the 1st October, 1931, the Monday session at the Short's Gardens Branch Centre was
discontinued,