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DAY NURSERY.
cd Miss W. J. Vigar.
/ Miss E. A. Weller, Miss P. Williams, Miss E. Martin.
a Maternity and Child Welfare Certificate.
b New Health Visitors' Certificate.
c State Registered Nurse.
d State Registered Midwife.
e Sanitary Inspector's Certificate.
f Certificate of Day Nursery Training.
I have much pleasure in presenting my second Report on the work of
the Maternity and Child Welfare Department for the year 1936.
During the latter part of the year we made arrangements for the
establishment of two additional Clinics, namely, at St. Alphege and St. John's
Church Halls, and these will be open early in the New Year. We shall then
have nine weekly sessions, in comparison to our former seven. It is our
intention to establish further Clinics in the course of the ensuing year, in
order to facilitate the mothers, and thereby entice them to attend the Clinics
more regularly and more often.
With the establishment of a greater number of Clinics, and better attendance,
we have no doubt that the Toddler question, which at the present time
seems to be so much in abeyance, will automatically solve itself. A great
deal of propaganda amongst the mothers will be necessary before this
problem will be solved. The idea is far too prevalent in Edmonton that, once
a child is able to walk, he needs no further attention, because the growing
child, and especially the child of developmental errors, needs far more care
at this stage in its life than during the school period.
The resolution of the Council to employ paid workers instead of voluntary
workers has borne good fruit. The regularity of attendance and the
specialisation of duties, has assisted the Staff to interview the mothers more
rapidly so that the latter can depart from the Clinic to attend to their domestic
duties earlier.
Three Ante-Natal Sessions have now been established, due to the increase
in the numbers attending the Clinics. It will be remembered that I commented
last year on the meagre attendances and the few visits paid by
individual mothers. This year not only has the number of mothers increased,
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