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738
total is less than that for 1926—8,590. But the number of births
during 1927, 670, was substantially less that that of 1926, 852, and it
is during the early months of a child's life that attendances are, very
properly, most frequent. Moreover, the number of attendances is
only one criterion of the value of the work that is being done.
3. The Ante-natal and Post-natal Clinic.— The subject
of maternal mortality and of disability following child birth is receiving
marked attention at present.
This year has seen the issue of a very valuable report from the
Ministry of Health "The Protection of Motherhood" by Dame
Janet Campbell.
Medical practitioners, midwives, the Ministry, and the Local
Authority are inseparably bound together in effecting improvements
in the preparations for, and conditions controlling childbirth amongst
the people at large.
The clinic controlled by this Council is one of the local agencies
seeking to contribute to this improvement.
Towards the end of the year there were certain changes in
administration and attendances have more than doubled during
the early months of 1928 (182 to end of April). The need of postnatal
examination and advice formerly largely disregarded, is now
recognised, and this aspect of the clinic work is being developed.
A brief statistical summary follows:
No. of new cases during 1927 71
Total No. of Attendances 260
No. removed from current list—Not Pregnant 11
Miscarriages 4
Removed from
Borough 5
Following Birth 47
— 67