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54 Maternity and Child Welfare.
Of 813 births investigated by the health visitors
during 1919, 638 were attended by a doctor, a registered
midwife being in attendance in 174 of these and an
unregistered woman in 444, and 175 were attended by
a registered midwife alone. Dr. Young, County Medical
Officer, in his annual report for the year 1918, reporting
on the operation of the Midwives Act, stated that of
the total births in Ealing the total number which
midwives attended alone was 125, and with a doctor
110. The result of the great number attended by
doctors is that there are few registered midwives practising
in Ealing. Of those practising, 7 in number,
all have certificates of training.
2. Visiting of expectant mothers.—The health visitors
made 194 visits during the year to expectant mothers,
34 being second visits and 22 third visits. Owing to
the number of cases in which a doctor is engaged for
the confinement the need for visits from the health
visitors is quite limited.
3. Consultations for expectant mothers (ante-natal
Clinic).—One pleasing feature of the ante-natal clinic
has been that a number of cases have been referred by
doctors and nurses to Dr. Bell for examination and
advice. The object of the clinic is to assist the doctors
and midwives, and not to take patients out of theirhands
and this is appreciated all the more readily, as
Dr. Bell is a consultant who is not engaged in private
practice and in whose ability the doctors and nurses
can place the greatest confidence. The ante-natal
clinic is open on two afternoons each month or roughly
26 afternoons in the year. During 1919, the first year,
57 expectant mothers came for advice. Some of these
made subsequent visits, the number of subsequent
visits being 41. The total consultations during the
year were therefore 98.