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Midwifery
Due to inadequate home conditions it has up till now, not generally been the
practice for Indian mothers in the borough to have domiciliary confinements. During
the year, however, a few cases were looked after by the Council's midwifery service
and this experience highlighted certain cultural patterns which are of interest.
These were:-
(1) The Indian mothers were found to be most reluctant to buy baby clothes
before the birth of the baby. This led in the early cases to the baby being
wrapped literally in a rug until suitable clothes were purchased. As
persuasion failed, the midwives, through the help of health visitors,
acquired sets of baby clothes which could be used immediately after birth
until the family bought their own.
(2) The midwives who nursed the first cases at home were disconcerted to find
that the nappies remained unwashed and on questioning learned that the
Indian mothers thought it was the midwives' duty to wash them.
(3) On occasions certain births remained unregistered and when the health
visitor was asked to investigate it was discovered that with certain sects
the mothers had to remain in purdah for 40 days after delivery. This then
left them only 2 days in which to register the baby's birth as required by
the Registration of Births Act of this country.
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As part of the Council's tuberculosis prevention service the heaf testing ot all
immigrant children on admission to school has continued and the figures for 1967
compared with the previous year were as follows:-