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 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Havering]
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MOTHER CRAFT & RELAXATION CLASSES
Mother craft and Relaxation Classes are held at each of the
ten clinics in the Borough, usually at twice weekly sessions. The
classes are particularly valuable to those women expecting their
first baby, but are of benefit to all expectant mothers. Almost
900 mothers attended these classes during 1968 and it is clear
that they appreciated the preparation for childbirth and the
establishment of friendly contacts with other expectant mothers
and with the Health Visitor and District Midwife taking the
classes. Details of attendance are given in the following table:—
TABLE 3
| Booked for Hospital Confinement | Booked for Home Confinement | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Women attending | 772 | 124 | 896 |
MIDWIFERY
At December 1968, 25 full-time and 2 part-time Mid wives
were in post with 1 appointment pending, compared with 29
full-time and 2 part-time at the end of 1967. The number of
mid wives has been reduced in step with the decreasing number
of domiciliary confinements, as shown in Table 4.
TABLE 4
| Place of Birth | Total adjusted by notifications transferred in orout of the area | |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1967 | |
| Domiciliary | 997 | 1137 |
| Institutional | 3063 | 3014 |
| Percentage of Hospital Births | 75.4 | 72.6 |
Table 5 sets out the number of confinements attended by the
Midwifery Staff. In addition to the fall in the number of domiciliary
confinements attended, there was a slight fall in the number
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