London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Havering 1966
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Havering]
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two thirds of all patients delivered in hospital were again
discharged home to the care of the midwife before the tenth
post-natal day, hospitals provide full information for the midwife
prior to mother and baby being discharged.
Midwifery
Details of the number of births and maternal and infant
deaths together with the rates, and comments thereon are given
earlier in this report under Vital Statistics. The following table
gives details of the midwifery work undertaken by the Midwifery
Staff, which at the end of 1966 comprised 28 Full-time and 3
Part-time Midwives and two District Nurse Midwives - equivalent
to 31 Full-time Midwives compared with an establishment of 33.
TABLE - 5
| No of domiciliary confinements attended by Midwives | Number of cases delivered in Hospital and other institutions but discharged and attended by domiciliary midwives before 10th day | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor not booked | Doctor booked | Total | |
| 53 | 1298 | 1351 | 1899 |
In 1965, the midwives attended 1471 domiciliary confinements.
A comparison between the two years reveals that the
number of domiciliary births in relation to the total fell from
34.9% to 32.0% in 1966. This is shown in the following comparative
table of births notified during the two years.
TABLE - 6
| Place of Birth | Total Adjusted by any notifications transferred in or out of the area | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 1965 | ||
| D omiciliarv | 1352 | 1529 | |
| Institutional | 2864 | 2845 | |
| Percentage of Domiciliary Births | 32.0 | 34.9 | |
From the above table it will be seen that the number of
births in hospital remained practically constant, and that the
fall in the number of births allowed a higher percentage of
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