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Dental Care. The services of the Dental Officers are available to
the "priority groups" of expectant and nursing mothers and young
children. During the year the Oral Hygienist commenced a series of
talks to mothers attending ante-natal classes, an innovation to be
encouraged since it is only by education of mothers in the care of their
own and their children's teeth that we can prevent needless decay and
unnecessary extractions. Too many mothers still refuse to let us fill
their children's milk teeth and say "they might just as well come out,"
not realising that this early loss may cause the second teeth to come
through crooked, and lead to months or years of orthodontic treatment
to get them straight again.
infant welfare
Infant welfare clinics have also been provided in Barking from the
earliest days of the service, the first having been set up in 1908. The
results are reflected in the infant mortality rate, at that time 117 per
1,000 live births, which steadily fell to a figure of 66 a quarter of a
century ago, and which stands at 26 for 1953. Despite the assertion
in the report of the Medical Officer of Health for 1931 that "many
people are igreed that it will be impossible to reduce the infant mortality
rate to less than 30 per thousand births," the rate has in fact been
below 30 for the past 6 years, as will be seen by reference to Figure 7.
In some countries (South Australia for instance) the infant mortality
rate 1 is already been reduced to 20 per 1,000 live births and there
would appear to be no insuperable obstacle to achieving similar or
even better esults in this country also. The task is steadily becoming
more diffii It as the mortality falls since most infant deaths now
occur in th first weeks of life, the majority whilst mother and babe
are still in ospital. We must, therefore, attack the problem more
through ou ante-natal and maternity services, and for this we need
more know.edge of the true causes of these deaths occurring soon
after birth.
Paradoxically, the success of the infant welfare movement has
led to much criticism and even to the suggestion that infant welfare
clinicsare no longer needed. Whilst I should strongly refute any such
suggestion I do think it opportune to pause to reflect on the effects
0f earlier successes. The problems today are not those of 25 years ago,
yet it may be fairly said that some of our methods have not changed
nuch during that time. We must not become complacent, but adjust
our ideas to the new problems before us. "Summer diarrhoea" and
rickts are now virtually non-existent, and clinics whose main functions
are the distribution of dried milk and vitamins have no place in our
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