View report page

151
medical practitioner either alone or in conjunction with a midwife;
16 were attended by a midwife alone, and 3 births
occurred before any skilled help was available; 6 occurred in
private nursing homes.
Forceps were reported to have been utilised in 22 of the
cases.
In 65 cases the baby was born at full term; in 14 during
the 8th month of gestation; in 8 during the 7th month; and in 1
under 7 months. The baby was apparently a normal child in 58
cases, abnormal in 10, whilst in 20 no record was available.
The still birth was the first pregnancy in 35 instances; the
2nd in 15; the 3rd in 12; the 4ith in 13; the 5th in 2; the 6th
in 5; the 7th in 3; the 8th in 2; and beyond in 1.
Previous still births had occurred in 10 cases.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Thirteen cases were notified during 1934. Under the Ophthalmia
Neonatorum Regulations, 1926, notification by midwives
ceased. Prior to 1926 the number of notifications remained fairly
uniform, and it would appear as if only the most severe cases are
low brought to the attention of the Authority.