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49
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
Work of Health Visitors.
The duties of the Health Visitors are as follows:—
Infant Visiting.— Infants are visited as soon as information
of birth is received either from the Registrar or by notification,
and they are revisited four times during the first year of life
unless they are attending one of the Infant Welfare Centres, when
the revisits are made by the Centre Superintendent.
It has not been found necessary to visit systematically all
children between the ages of one and five, as they have been
visited when infants, and many of them are kept under supervision
at the Welfare Centre or by visits made by the Superintendents
of the Centres. Further opportunities for keeping observation
on these children and their homes occur when visits are
made to the home for some other purpose, as for instance, for a
case of infectious disease. Children known to be unhealthy are
visited regularly.
Infectious Disease.— All cases of Puerperal Fever, Puerperal
Pyrexia, Whooping Cough and Ophthalmia Neonatorum are visited
on notification, as well as all known cases of Measles, and Diarrhoea
in children under five.
The Health Visitors visit the homes of mothers attending
the ante-natal Centres in the Borough, as well as the homes of
women who apply for admission to Maternity Homes, and the
maternity wards of St. Thomas's and other Hospitals. Home
visits are also made for investigating applications for milk under
the Milk (Mothers and Children) Order, and in connection with
Convalescent and Dental treatment. Visits are also made to
see if homes are suitable for children to return to after minor
operations at General Hospitals.
One of the Health Visitors is present at each Infant Welfare
or ante-natal Clinic, and some of them attend the Welfare Com-
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