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42
Three thousand and four births have been attended by the
Borough Midwives since the appointment of a Midwife was first
made in 1922.
An increase in the number of Midwives was necessitated by
the adoption of a scheme for producing "Painless Childbirth,"
and a fourth Midwife was appointed on 1st April, 1940. It is
a rule of the Central. Midwives Board that where gas and air
analgesia is administered at a confinement to produce " Painless
Childbirth," that two midwives must be in attendance.
In the early part of the year a scheme was brought into
operation whereby women could be spared much of the pain
associated with childbirth.
The method adopted was the administration of a mixture of
Nitrous Oxide and air to produce prolonged analgesia, a state
of insensitiveness to pain without loss of consciousness.
Maternity hospitals adopted this technique to obtain painless
childbirth and it was claimed to be so safe that the
administration could be left in the hands of a midwife without
the presence of a doctor.
The Borough Midwives received the necessary training at
the North Middlesex County Hospital.
"Up to the end of the year twenty-nine mothers had had
gas and air administered at their confinements and the results
may be claimed to be very satisfactory.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACT. 1936 (Sec. 203).
NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS.
All live births and still births of seven months and over must
be notified to the Medical Officer of Health within 36 hours, in
addition to being registered within a period of six weeks after
birth.
PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH.
5
The number of births notified under the Act during 1940
was: Undetermined. Male. Female. Total.
Live births 0515444 959
Still births 1 2415 40
1 539 459 999