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Of the 55 babies born to the 54 unmarried girls admitted to mother and baby
homes during 1966, 22 were kept by their mothers, 28 were adopted, one went into
a voluntary society home, three were taken into care of the local authority and one
child was stillborn.
Every help possible is given to the unsupported mother who decides to keep
her child, for the road she chooses is not an easy one.
"At Risk " Register
There is a register of children who. because of some factor noted either before,
during, or after birth, may be more liable than other children to suffer a mental or
physical abnormality. These children are kept under observation by the assistant
medical officers until it is established that development is normal. Children are
usually removed from the register between the ages of two and three years if no
defect has been detected by then.
The form of notification is completed by the doctor, health visitor or midwife
and 499 such notifications were received during the year. Three hundred and
seventy-three children were removed from the register, leaving a total of 1,120
children on the register at the end of the year.
Of the 629 children on the register who had hearing tests at infant welfare
clinics, seven appeared to have some hearing loss. Two of these children were still
under observation at the end of the year and of the remaining five who were
referred for further investigation, no hearing defect was found in two cases. One
child was found to be severely deaf and the other two children were found to have
partial hearing; arrangements were made for all three to be fitted with hearing aids.
In addition, two children on the register and under the care of hospitals were found
to be deaf and were issued with hearing aids.
During 1966, 46 children were reported to be suffering from congenital abnormalities,
making a total of 70 children in the handicapped section of the register.
Incidence of Congenital Abnormalities Detectable at Birth
There is a procedure of standard notification by the doctor or midwife in
charge to the Medical Officer of Health, of all babies born with a detectable
abnormality. A return of all notifications, amounting to 52 for the year, was made
to the Registrar General.
The figures for the country as a whole should, when available, prove a valuable
means of indicating hereditary, geographical, seasonal and other factors hitherto
unknown, which may influence the development of congenital abnormalities.
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