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Visits paid by Health Visitors to expectant mothers:—
First visits— 641. Re-visits—1890.
A review of the attendance shows that most of the women present
themselves too late in pregnancy and too seldom for the work to realise
much of value. The following table shows the average age, parity, period
of attendance, and number of visits paid by the St. Andrew's Hospital
and midwives patients:—
Stage of pregnancy at
First Last Number
Age. Parity.* visit. visit. of
Years. Weeks. Weeks. visits.
St. Andrew's patients (311) 24.5 0.8 24.5 32.0 3.0
Midwives' patients (153) 28.6 2.6 28.6 34.6 2.6
*The pregnancy under review is not reckoned. Thus primigravidae
are counted as 0, those attending in their second pregnancy as 1, and so on.
Abortions are not counted since the data are not reliable.
The St. Andrew's patients are, by arrangement, transferred to the
Ante-Natal Department of the Hospital at the 32nd week, or earlier if
any abnormality makes it desirable. 50 per cent. of these patients are
pregnant for the first time, yet even so a quarter only present themselves
in time for one attendance, and another quarter for two attendances, before
it is time for them to be transferred. They may as a whole be considered
to be under medical supervision from the 24th to the 40th week.