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Some hospitals do the ante-natal care, mothercraft and relaxation exercises for their own expectant
mothers.
Health visitors and midwives encourage mothers to have post-natal examination six weeks after the
confinement, at the hospital, clinic or general practitioner's surgery. Health visitors visit mothers who fail
to keep appointments at the hospitals or clinics.
Child Welfare Clinics
Child welfare sessions are held in seven clinics; four are main clinics and three are subsidiary ones.
Two of the subsidiary clinics are held in church halls and one in a converted house (Table 47).
Assistant medical officers and health visitors give advice on the feeding, hygiene and general management
of infants and young children. The doctors give advice and immunise children against diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis.
At Pound Lane clinic an experienced woman is employed for three sessions a week to care for
children when their mothers are attending at clinic sessions. 133 sessions were held and 715 attendances
were made.
The Stonebridge Clinic Mothers' Club formed eight years ago has become firmly established with
a membership of 50. The mothers meet once a week and run the club and committee themselves with the
help of the nursing staff; an average attendance at meetings is 35. The club is self-supporting and its assets
amount to about £35. The club continues to function with as much enthusiasm as ever. A number of old
members have left and acquired new homes out of Willesden; these mothers have been replaced by other
mothers living in the Stonebridge area.
Medical officers, health visitors and outside speakers have given lectures, talks and demonstrations
on health and homecraft, many illustrated with films.
Mothers have visited places of interest including a demonstration at T. Wall & Sons, food and
cookery centre, and a branch of the United Dairies Ltd. at Blackfriars when the children were invited and
tea was served. They have also been to a theatre, for an evening bus tour and with their children to a
pantomime and a day's outing to Westcliff. A children's Christmas party was held, which was a great
success. His Worship the Mayor and the Mayoress attended and they donated £5 5s. Od. to the club's funds.
The eighth anniversary dinner held at Stonebridge was attended by 40 mothers who made the occasion
most delightful by wearing a wonderful collection of hats designed and made by the wearers. An annual
donation of £1 is sent to the Willesden Old Folks' Association. A door-to-door collection was arranged in
aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the proceeds, which amounted to
£24, were given to the Society's funds and £1 1s. Od. was sent to the Oxford Famine Relief Fund out of the
club's funds.
The mothers feel that this club continues to fulfil a great need in the Stonebridge area, as there does
not appear to be a similar sort of club where education and social welfare flourishes side by side in such a
congenial and friendly atmosphere.
Prevention of Break-up of Families in Willesden
In October, 1958, the Middlesex County Council entered into an agreement with the Family Service
Units for the equivalent of one whole-time trained social worker to assist in the prevention of the break-up
of families referred by the health visitors. In 1960 an additional trained worker, half-time, was employed
and this assistance is still being given.
Altogether 50 families have been referred; 29 were found suitable for dealing with by the Family
Service Units, 17 were found to be unsuitable, three refused help, and one was referred to the Child Guidance
Clinic. Of the 29 families, two removed out of Willesden, three have been referred to the care of the National
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, one was in a position to carry on without further support
and one was rehoused, and as this had been the major problem, it was considered help was no longer needed.
At the end of the year the Family Service Units were dealing with 22 families.
During the year, 1,431 contacts with these families and 860 contacts on behalf of these families were
made by the staff of the Family Service Units.
The families receiving help are long term, but of these two have now been closed. The Family
Service Units has relieved the health visitors of the heavy burden of work with these families, there has been
good co-operation between all workers concerned.
Joint quarterly meetings have been held during the year by the workers from the Family Service
Units, the N.S.P.C.C. Inspector, other social workers, assistant medical officers and health visitors. Reports are
exchanged, the families are discussed and suggestions for helping them are made.
MIDWIFERY SERVICE
At the beginning of the year the Middlesex County Council employed six midwives in Willesden.
During the year two midwives left and three midwives were appointed, making a total of seven at the end
of the year.
Three or four pupil midwives work for three months at a time in Willesden under the supervision
of approved midwife teachers as part of their second period training for the Central Midwives' Board
Examination.