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

Bromley 1937

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley]

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52
The most "difficult" is that to the mother who
already has a grown-up family, and believes that she knows
all that can he known about babies, is not receptive to new
ideas and knowledge, and who persists in wrong feeding of
the baby who to all outward appearance requires corrective
diet. This is often the "grandmother" type, who is so
full of advice to the young married mother that she cannot
resist giving this unwanted advice."
Welfare Centres.
Nine centres are held weekly, and the following
statistics give an indication of the extent of the work
carried out at the welfare centres. They are provided and
controlled by the Local Authority, and are staffed by the
Health Visitors who are assisted by Voluntary Workers
whose work is quite invaluable and about which I cannot
give too high praise.

Table: Table XIII. in the Appendix gives statistical details of the work of the centres. The following extracts of figures relate to work at the centres during 1937:—

Table XIII. in the Appendix gives statistical details of the work of the centres. The following extracts of figures relate to work at the centres during 1937:—

(a) Total number of attendances at all centres during 193722,486
(i) By children under 1 year of age9,732
(ii) By children between the ages of 1 and 512,754
(b) Total number of children who attended at the centres for the first time during 1937620
(i) Children under 1 year of age463
(ii) Children between the ages of and 5157
(c) Total number of children who were in attendance at the centres at the end of the year 19372,306
(i) Children under 1 year of age356
(ii) Children between the ages of 1 and 5 years1950