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136
Attendance at Confinement.—Thirty of the still births
investigated occurred in the Mayday Hospital; 12 in St. Mary's
Hospital; 20 were attended in their own homes by a private medical
practitioner either alone or in conjunction with a midwife; 9 were
attended by a midwife alone, and 1 birth occurred before any skilled
help was available; 5 occurred in private nursing homes.
Forceps were reported to have been utilised in 15 of the cases.
In 45 cases the baby was born at full term; in 15 during the
8th month of gestation; in 14 during the 7th month. The baby was
apparently a normal child in 52 cases, abnormal in 10, whilst in
15 no record was available.
The still birth was the first pregnancy in 25 instances; the
2nd in 17; the 3rd in 13; the 4th in 10; the 5th in 3; the 7th in
5; the 8th in 1; and beyond in 1.
Previous still births had occurred in 9 cases.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Twenty cases were notified during 1936. 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 rases are
now brought to the attention of the Authority.
The following table gives the notifications in Croydon during
the past eleven years:—

Results of Treatment.