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CARE OF MOTHERS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
(Section 22)
Notification of Births

Ante-natal Clinics
The routine care of expectant mothers has continued at all the
centres showing a slight increase over last year's figures. The
relatively larger number of mothers receiving care in Hornsey
compared with Tottenham reflects the fact that all patients confined
in the Alexandra Maternity Home attend local authority clinics for
their ante-natal care.
During the year an important report was made under the auspices
of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists by the National
Birthday Trust following a nation-wide survey they made into
Perinatal Mortality. This survey was an investigation into all births
occurring in one week in 1960 throughout England, Wales and Scotland,
and all perinatal deaths occurring in three months. Detailed reports
of all these births have thrown light on the standard of obstetric care
that was being provided at that time. Argument is still going on
about the interpretation of the findings but it is clear that standards
are still far from ideal and that some infant deaths could be prevented
if a little more skill and care were available. Mothers who come
off worst are those who are "unbooked", i.e. no one doctor is
responsible for the care throughout the pregnancy.
This is not a local problem, it is a national one, and the
remedy will have to be partly national as well. At local liaison
committees representatives of the hospital boards, general practitioners
and this health department continue to try to ensure that local facilities
are used to the best advantage. All the obstetric units that accept
patients from Tottenham and Hornsey are constantly working to the
limit of their capacity, as are the domiciliary midwives. While we
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