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Infant Welfare Clinics
These clinics have continued to run smoothly throughout the year.
The mothers bring their babies regularly and derive great comfort from
knowing that their offspring thrive. A careful check can be kept on those
babies who do not progress satisfactorily mentally or physically; and mothers
can be given guidance in management and feeding problems. The health
visitors conduct separate sessions which help the doctors to see only those
cases in which medical advice is necessary. The doctors' sessions are thus
kept within reasonable numbers so that an unharrassed atmosphere can be
created. This is becoming increasingly necessary; and allows time to
penetrate into special difficulties and give suitable advice; the kind of advice
which is most likely to be taken.
The importance of recognising as early as possible any signs which
might lead later to some permanent handicaps cannot be over stressed.
Routine urine testing of young babies is now carried out in order to find those
rare cases of mental retardation. Very early hearing tests are carried out
with a view to detecting congenital deafness and reference to the Audiology
clinic.
There is a regrettable trend, as the baby grows older, for mothers
to attend clinics less often. The toddler sessions thus seek to obtain more
regular supervision of the 2-5 age group; as only in this way the developmental
defects and behaviour problems can be found before they become serious.
All the personnel working in these clinic shave been impressed with the upsurge
of emotional problems of young mothers. There seems to be an increased urge
by parents to do the 'best' for children and this calls for deep understanding,
sympathy, tact and resourcefulness on the part of the health visitors and doctors
and an increasing need for an intimate knowledge of all the social and special
services. In turn this calls for even closer co-operation between the many
services available and those who work in them, both by personal contacts and
through the medium of liaison committees.
Toddlers Clinics
These sessions for the pre-school child continue to be conducted at
all the centres; and present a challenge to all our staff. Ideally, after the
second birthday the "toddler" should be seen by appointment at six monthly
intervals or more frequently if necessary. In this way, defects, mental,
physical or environmental, can be found and rectified before the child enters
school. Those defects which are most likely to be a hindrance are those
connected with sight, hearing, speech, motivation, mental acuity or social
adjustment. The routine examination of children before they enter school is
thus of the utmost importance; and makes it possible to reduce the number
of untreated defects found in school entrants.
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