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FOREWORD
It is with a sense of melancholy that I place on record the report of the
activities for 1947—this year sees the end of an important phase in the life
of the Maternity and Child Welfare Service which embraces its birth and sub'
sequent expansion in Edmonton under the control of the local Borough
Council. During 1948 we shall pass on to another era, when the Middlesex
County Council will take over the responsibility under the National Health
Service Act, and we shall see many changes ; expansions of the present and the
commencement of new schemes, old methods replaced by new. Let us hope
that the new will achieve as much as the old.
At the moment the future appears obscure, but with bold and constructive
planning, valuable steps forward can be taken in the work which is so
essential and important to the welfare of mothers and children.
During 1947 the Midwifery Service continued to maintain its usual
high standard with encouraging results and the record was again highly satisfactory.
The attendances at the Ante-Natal Clinics were splendid and the
table below will give some indication as to the growth of the work. An
additional Clinic was opened in June, 1947 in the Weir Hall area, and it is
proving very popular and relieving the congestion in the Brookfield House
Clinic.
Attendances at the Ante-Natal Clinic
1935 1,176
1938 3,801
1946 12,499
1947 13,185
These figures are practical evidence that the public realise the value of
attention before the birth of a child, not merely to safeguard the actual confinement
itself, but an appreciation on their part that an Ante-Natal Clinic
means so much to the future of the unborn child.
The work has, however, put a severe strain on the staff who have been
required to deal with such high numbers per session without incurring any
risk to the patient. They have, however, borne the extra burden cheerfully
and the confinements during the year 1947 were in nearly all instances without
complications.
It is good to be able to report that no maternal death occurred in the
Domiciliary Midwifery Service this year, which is good testimony to the close
observation and special interest that is given to these mothers by the staff.
The Flying Squad Service maintained by the North Middlesex County
Hospital has proved itself of immense value and it is puzzling to imagine why
such a simple method of assistance was not put into operation many years ago.
The gas and air service is also proving very popular with the mothers
and is yet another proof of the assistance rendered by the Council which is
being appreciated more and more by the women. The following figures will
speak for themselves.
1942 18 had gas and air
1946 181 had gas and air
1947 236 had gas and air
Up to the present the Ambulance Service has been employed to convey
the apparatus both night and day to the women who need this service. It is
to be hoped with the change over of the ambulances from the Council to the
Fire Brigade it will not in any way interfere with the carrying out of this good
work.
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