View report page

111
of the new municipal midwives, as on the housing conditions and
family circumstances of expectant mothers and on the relative cost
of domiciliary and institutional confinements.
During the first year of operation of your domiciliary midwifery
scheme (i.e., 1st August, 1937 until 31st July, 1938) the
number of domiciliary confinements has decreased from 653 in
1937 to 552 in the year ended 31st July last.
For the purpose of calculating staff requirements it was
assumed that each municipal midwife should be capable of attendance
on 90 cases per year; and on that basis you appointed three
municipal midwives for duty in the western part of the Borough
and arranged with the Essex County Nursing Association for the
provision of five midwives to serve that part of the Borough lying
to the east of Leyton High Road and Hoe Street.

With regard to the three municipal midwives, in addition to
attendance on their actual cases they are also employed in connection
with the work of your ante-natal clinics; but even so they
have not been so fully employed as was intended during the year
under review.
In the light of the first year's experience it appears that some
modification of the original scheme is advisable. It may be suggested
that steps should not be taken to fill the vacancy caused
by the resignation of Nurse Dodsworth; but that would create
difficulties with regard to off-duty times and would necessitate
the employment of Essex County Nursing Association midwives
for relief duty.