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53
Public Offices,
Enfield ,
30th March, 1937.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Urban District Council of Enfield.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,
I beg to place before you my report on the Maternity and Child
Welfare services of Enfield for the year 1936.
Whilst the scope of the work has not been increased by the
commencement of any new service, there has been a steady growth
in the number of individuals who have been helped and of the work
that has been carried out. This is fully indicated by the figures
quoted in this Report.
Despite this increase in work, children are still entering our
schools suffering from dental, aural and ophthalmic defects. These
defects should have been remedied prior to their admission, and it
should be unnecessary for children to lose school time for the treatment
of defects that could have been prevented or cured at the
Maternity and Child Welfare Clinic. An increase in the number
of three-year old and four-year old children attending our Clinics
should prevent this.
I would like to take this opportunity of stressing the value of
the ante-natal and allied dental, aural and ophthalmic clinics.
Here the expectant mother can obtain such treatment as will assure
her that she faces pregnancy and child-birth in as fit a condition
as possible.
Contentment during pregnancy is an important factor in the
protection of mothers against some of the disabilities associated
with child-birth. One cannot expect an ante-natal mother to be
happy if she is deaf or suffering from headaches or dental pain.
The minor maladies of pregnancy can cause serious distress, and
the efforts which the Council are making towards the comfort of
pregnancy are of the greatest importance.
It has been suggested that a fear of pregnancy has been
engendered in the public as a result of the widespread propaganda
which has been made in order to effect a lowering of maternal