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58
Act, 1948. There are 22 grant-aided homes and the approximate total grant for
the financial year was £13,023. Denominations responsible for the management of
the homes are Church of England 8, Roman Catholic 4, Church Army 2, Salvation
Army 2, Jewish 1, Methodist 1, undenominational 4, but all homes are undenominational
where admissions are concerned. The Council is represented by medical
officers of the department on the governing bodies of the homes which receive grants.
Social work
Social work, both pre-natal and post-natal, is in the main done by moral welfare
associations whose trained workers attach the greatest importance to it. The primary
object is to re-establish the mother in her own life, together with her baby if possible.
In London 33 moral welfare workers are employed by five associations which received
grants amounting to £7,200 from the Council during the financial year. The voluntary
committees of the mother and baby homes give valuable assistance in the work.
Participation
of health
visitors
There is close co-operation between the health visitors and the moral welfare
workers. Unmarried mothers are put into touch with the moral welfare workers and
the health visitors see that the maternity and child welfare services are made available
to them. Where necessary financially necessitous cases are referred to the Welfare
Department. Women in need of residential accommodation and considered unsuitable
for admission to voluntary homes, are cared for in the homes maintained by that
department.
L.C.C.
Midwives

The attraction of hospital confinement, owing to the lower cost to the patient,
and the increase in the number of maternity beds available were other factors in
reducing the number of home confinements. As regards the higher cost of a home
confinement, representations have been made to the National Insurance Advisory
Committee with a view to possible adjustments in maternity benefit and/or allowances.
Of the 7,308 confinements during 1950, 915 were primi-gravidae and 6,393 multigravidae
; the figures do not include women booked by the Council's midwives, who
were subsequently admitted to hospital before confinement suffering from toxaemia,
ante-partum haemorrhage or other condition requiring hospital care. The average
number of midwives employed during the year was 128 and the number of midwives
employed at the end of the year was 121, compared with 140, at the end of 1949 and
155 at the end of 1948. The average number of confinements taken by each midwife,
including her sick and holiday reliefs, was approximately 57 compared with 58 in
1949 and 65 in 1948.
It was a constant problem during the year to adjust the number of midwives to
the reduced number of bookings. In many cases this involved adjustment of practising
areas of the 27 district nursing associations and hospitals providing district
midwifery services under agreement with the Council.
Part-time midwives were occasionally employed for various periods during the
year to assist in the nursing of mothers when the Council's midwives were absent on
annual or sick leave.
Ambulance cars continued to be available for the transport of midwives in
emergency, particularly at night, and when undertaking additional relief duties,
and 4,703 miles were run on the service during the year.