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47
It is worthy of note that out of about 1,150 births,
1,078 women attended at your ante-natal centres
during 1938. This only leaves 100 or less women who
did not attend your clinics. This gives a very high
percentage of cases attending your centres, and is one
which does not leave a great margin upon which to
improve. The great increase this year is probably due
to the fact that the majority of the cases engaging
midwives do attend the clinics regularly.
Mothers attending for the first time are seen firstly
by the sister in attendance, who, if the mothers have
not made arrangements for the confinement, gives
them information about obtaining the services of a
midwife and about admission to the Upney Hospital.
They are than seen by the medical officer in attendance
who examines and makes full notes on each case, including
the histories of previous confinements.
The Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, as
in previous years, attends monthly and all cases requiring
specialist examination are referred to him.
It has not yet become the practice in Barking to take
a specific blood examination of all expectant mothers
for venereal disease, and this to my mind is a definite
medical entity which must have a far-reaching effect
upon mother and child.
The encouraging of free dinners, free milk and free
tonics, etc., in necessitous cases, still obtains and much
is done to ensure that it is commenced in the early
stages of the pregnancy.
(b) Still-births.—There is nothing to add to my remarks
of last year in regard to the discovery of the
causes of still-births. It had been hoped that with the
inauguration of routine post-mortem examinations in
all cases of still-birth, something might have been
discovered which would lead to methods for reducing