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1925
38
In addition, 4172 visits were paid to children between the
the ages of one and five years.
Although Child Welfare started with the home visiting of
infants, it was soon found that not only were the health visitors
unable to pay sufficient visits to the homes, but certain other
activities could only be carried out in centres.
The Council has two Child Welfare Centres—one in the rooms
attached to the Church Road Baptist Chapel and the other in
the rooms attached to the Mission Hall, in Palmerston Road.
The centres are held every Monday and Wednesday afternoons,
and an average attendance of 55 and 56 per session respectively
is made. Altogether 1539 children attended the two centres
during the year.
Maternal Mortality and Ante-natal work.
Five deaths occurred in childbed-—four from puerperal sepsis
and one from other diseases of pregnancy and parturition. This
number corresponds to a maternal mortality of 4.6 per 1000 births.
In the last 5 years the number of maternal deaths has been
as follows:—
1925 5 1922 4
1924 7 1921 3
1923 8
This question was discussed very fully in last years report,
and it was then stated that the district compared unfavourably
with the whole of England and Wales, and with most of the metropolitan
boroughs. Moreover, recently, the maternal mortality
seemed to be greater now than it was 20 years ago, as the following
figures show
1905-1908 3.74 maternal deaths per 1000.
1909-1912 2.7 ,, ,, ,, ,,
1913-1916 4.53 ,, ,, ,, ,,
1917-1920 4.59 ,, ,, ,, ,,
1921-1924 4 6 ,, ,, ,, ,,
1924 6.04 „ ,, ,, ,,
1925 4.6 ,, ,, ,, ,,