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Mother-craft
training
at the first visit and repeated about the 30th to 32nd week of pregnancy, and further
readings are made when the level is low and iron therapy has been given.
Residential facilities for the treatment of infant feeding difficulties are provided at the
Violet Melchett welfare centre, a voluntary organisation providing services on behalf of
the Council under section 22 of the National Health Service Act, 1946. Comparative
figures are :
Mothers
Accompanied
children
Unaccompanied
children
1955 56 59 75
1956 51 57 63
Clinics
The North Islington infant welfare centre, maintained by a voluntary organisation also
providing services under section 22, continues to afford similar but non-resident facilities.
The tables on pages 57 and below show attendances of the various types held at
maternity and child welfare centres. An average of 342 sessions a week were being
conducted at the end of the year by medical officers employed on a sessional basis.
Voluntary
organisations
Maternity and child welfare services were provided by 17 voluntary organisations
by agreement with the Council under section 22 of the National Health Service Act,
1946. In addition, child welfare centres were maintained on behalf of the Council by the
medical schools of four teaching hospitals acting as voluntary organisations and grantaided
by the Council.
Family
planning
Family planning advice was provided for women for whom further pregnancy
would be detrimental to health. Seven weekly sessions were held by the Council but in
areas where those facilities were not provided the services of the Family Planning Association
were obtained and per capita payments made to the association. 797 women were
referred to the Association's clinics in 1955 and 729 during 1956. At the end of the
year 35 weekly sessions were being held by the association, some in the council's
centres where accommodation was made available without charge.
Toxaemia of
pregnancy
The Council has been represented by divisional medical officers and non-medical
supervisors of midwives at the series of meetings convened by Boards of Governors and
Hospital Management Committees of professional representatives from the three parts
of the National Health Service to discuss professional issues raised in the memorandum
of advice from the Standing Maternity and Midwifery Advisory Committee in regard
to ante-natal care related to toxaemia. The meetings had not been completed by the end
of the year.
Discharge of
mothers and
babies from
hospital
The form provided by the Council to hospitals with maternity units for notifying the
discharge of mothers and infants was revised. Upon receipt of the notification, which
includes information about feeding, the divisional medical officers arrange for health
visiting and other personal health services to come into play and the chief amendment
of the form was to facilitate wherever desired the passing of the information to the
family doctor by the hospital in the same clerical process.