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Premature Babies
There were fourteen premature babies born at home. Of this number, five were
transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit at Lewisham Hospital, the remainder
continued to make good progress at home.
Pupil Midwife Training
Pupil midwives are accepted from Lewisham Hospital and Greenwich District
Hospital, but the declining number of domiciliary confinements has limited the
practical experience available to them. For the past three years a "Social Services
Course" has been part of the training programme. This has enlarged the pupils'
experience of the community and given an understanding of the services available
to both mother and family. Forty-four pupil midwives completed training during
the year and a further eleven are in training at the present time.
Screening for Phenylketonuria
The Scriver test (plasma chromatograph) has been continued throughout the year;
a total of 1,959 tests were taken by the domiciliary midwives. It was necessary to
repeat tests on a small number of babies, but later these proved to be negative.
The strike involving the electricity workers which occurred in November created
problems for the domiciliary midwives, but fortunately only two babies were born
during a power cut. Both deliveries were successfully carried out. The greater
problem was maintaining the temperature of rooms in all-electric homes, as the
weather was particularly cold and some babies were at risk. Relatives and friends
played a big part in overcoming these difficulties and arrangements were necessary
to deliver some patients in alternative accommodation.
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