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Section II—MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
The statistics for the year in regard to births and deaths of infants will be found on
pages 10 to 16 of this report.
The Borough scheme for Maternity and Child Welfare includes the following activities:—
(а) The dispatch by post of cards of advice to the individual mothers immediately
after the receipt of the notification of birth required by law.
(b) The home visitation of expectant and nursing mothers and babies by the
Council's staff of health visitors, who work (a) from the Town Hall and (6)
from the Centres.
(c) The provision and maintenance of Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.
These centres are parily maintained on a voluntary basis; but the whole of the
professional staff (medical officers and health visitors) are paid and controlled
by the Council, who also pay the rent, rates and taxes of the Centre premises.
(d) The provision of a clinic for ailing mothers and young children, the expenses
being borne partly by municipal and partly by voluntary funds.
(e) The provision of a municipal dental clinic for mothers and young children.
(f) The subsidisation of a Home for ailing young children.
(g) The supply of milk, free or at reduced price, for necessitous mothers (nursing
or expectant) and young children; and the subsidisation of a voluntary fund for
the provision of dinners for nursing and expectant mothers.
(h) The subsidisation of a voluntary fund for the provision of Home Helps.
(i) The subsidisation of the three voluntary Day Nurseries in the Borough.
(j) The subsidisation of voluntary agencies providing, either free or at a reduced
rate, in hospital or at home, midwifery attendance for necessitous St. Pancras
women.
(k) The payment for the home nursing of sick infants in certain cases.
The work done in 1923 in connection with the scheme will now be referred to in detail:—
Advice Cards.—Besides the posting of cards of advice to the mothers of all infants
whose births have been notified, cards of advice to expectant mothers have be n distributed
through University College Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, the Maternity Nursing Association,
and other agencies.
Home Visiting.—This has been done by the health visitors at the Town Hall and by the
Council's staff of health visitors at the Centres, who visit the mothers attending the Centres, and
also such notified births as are referred to them by the Medical Officer of Health.
The Town Hall infant visitors include two full-time health visitors and four who are
health visitors as to part of their time. These ladies in 1923 made 2850 visits to 581 infants
(apart from visits made to cases of measles and for other special purposes). They also made
360 visits to 164 expectant mothers.
The Council's visitors at the Infant Welfare Centres numbered 20 full Time workers,
who divide their time between the necessary work in the Centres and home-visiting. In
addition there was one full time voluntary (unpaid) trained worker at the Caversham Road
Centre, and two part-time trained volunteers (unpaid) at Chalton Street, in addition to two
visitors (working in neighbouring boroughs as well as St. Pancras) at the University College
Hospital Centre, whose salaries were paid by the hospital, and not by the Council.