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43
Maternal Mortality.
5 deaths occurred in child bearing women, all of whom died
outside the Borough : the circumstances in which the death took
place were thus rendered very difficult of investigation. We do
know that in 4 of these ante-natal supervision had been exercised.
Two of the deaths were in unmarried women, one of whom had not
previously to her death been examined by a doctor. One of the
cases had arranged for admission to Park Royal Hospital and had
attended the prenatal clinic.
Statistics have frequently been published to show that, from
the purely obstetric point of view, it seems to matter little where
delivery takes place, and provided that labour is normal, there is
little doubt that the woman delivered in a slum is running no more
risk of dying than if she were delivered in a modern labour ward.
Normal labour, though, can never be guaranteed, but efficient
prenatal work by a process of weeding out, can do a great deal in
this direction. It may be argued that in these circumstances,
our efforts should be directed towards a more comprehensive scheme
of pre-natal supervision, so that abnormal confinement may be to
a large extent foreseen and treated in an institution.
There is a diversity of opinion as to the relative advantages
and disadvantages of the home and the maternity home
or hospital in a case of normal confinement, an as stated
above, statistics can be made to prove either.
But there are factors in which health workers are interested
other than the risks of the actual confinement and these factors
decide the success or failure of the facilities which an authority may
make for an uncomplicated confinement. The Council's scheme for
uncomplicated confinements has been described in a previous annual
report. Arrangements have been made with the Middlesex Council
for the admission of cases to the Central Middlesex Hospital, the
Borough Council pays an agreed sum to the County and assesses
the fees to be paid by the patient.
The following figures show the number of cases admitted under
the Council's scheme since its initiation.
1931
Cases admitted during:—
1st Quarter 1
2nd Quarter 7
3rd Quarter 20
4th Quarter 22