London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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CARE OF MOTHERS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
The main features of the Council's services for care of mothers and young children
remained as in previous years. Day-to-day administration of the services is the responsibility
of the nine divisional health committees; details are given in the reports of the divisional
medical officers. Changes in centres during the year are reported in the section on health
service premises.
Maternity and child welfare
Particulars of sessions and attendances are given in the following table:
T able (i)—
| 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ante-natal, post-natal and combined clinics: | |||||
| Number at end of year | 116 | 118 | 112 | 111 | 109 |
| Sessions per month | 805 | 786 | 799 | 797 | 793 |
| Ante-natal: | |||||
| First attendances | 23,379 | 23,918 | 25,673 | 23,905 | 25,455 |
| Total attendances | 122,662 | 121,579 | 134,684 | 129,731 | 133,062 |
| Percentage of pregnant women attending an ante-natal clinic | 44 | 44 | 45 | 42 | 43 |
| Post-natal: | |||||
| Number of women attending during the year | 4,543 | 3,887 | 3,714 | 3,524 | 3,369 |
| Child welfare clinics: | |||||
| Number at end of year | 178 | 178 | 179 | 179 | 179 |
| Sessions per month | 1,953 | 1,990 | 1,991 | 1,957 | 2,034 |
| Attendances under 1 year First | 44,910 | 46,387 | 49,229 | 49,610 | 50,202 |
| Total | 595,690 | 613,147 | 611,057 | 606,042 | 578,250 |
| Attendances over 1 year | 189,388 | 183,538 | 177,283 | 152,627 | 163,845 |
| Attendances at special toddlers clinics (not included in above) | 41,055 | 40,848 | 38,940 | 38,361 | 37,533 |
| Percentage of infants attending a centre at least once in the first year of life | 86 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 88 |
| 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendances at sessions provided by the Council First | 1,011 | 975 | 945 |
| Total | 4,392 | 4,260 | 4,337 |
| Women referred by the Council to Family Planning Association | 702 | 705 | 741 |
| 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National dried milk (tins) | 25,413 | 19,839 | 15,791 | 15,328 | 13,817 |
| Cod-liver oil (bottles) | 6,156 | 5,191 | 3,620 | 3,469 | 3,442 |
| Vitamin tablets (packets) | 2,952 | 2,788 | 2,736 | 2,775 | 2,837 |
| Orange juice (bottles) | 48,163 | 48,925 | 31,360 | 30,412 | 28,864 |