London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Shoreditch 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
This page requires JavaScript
121
Maternal Care.
At the end of the year the Council's scheme for the care of women during
the periods of pregnancy, parturition and puerperium comprised the following
activities: —
Home Visiting.
Pregnancy is not a notifiable condition, but as a result of the widely
spread knowledge concerning, and confidence in, Maternity and Child
Welfare work, many women seek the advice of the health visitors in connection
with this matter. If schemes for maternal care are to achieve their object
of helping and safeguarding women during the critical periods referred to
at the beginning of this sub-section it is of the greatest importance that advice
should be sought as soon as pregnancy is suspected. Delay increases the
difficulty of correcting- anv abnormality that may be present.
The numbers of individual expectant mothers visited and subsequent visits paid to these during recent years are shown in the following table : —
| 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of individuals visited | 564 | 641 | 619 | 592 | 641 | 631 | 568 |
| Total number of visits paid | 1,027 | 1,200 | 1,109 | 1,045 | 1,156 | 1,215 | 1,011 |
Ante-Natal Clinics.
Particulars of the attendances at these clinics will be found in the table
at the end of this section.
At the time of writing the ante-natal clinics are as follows : —
Monday morning. Model Welfare Centre. Districts 1-6 (commenced
May, 1932). Dr. Gladys Hill.
Tuesday morning. School for Mothers, 28, Herbert Street. District 7.
Dr. Dancy.
Wednesday morning. Model Welfare Centre. Districts 1-6. Dr.
Gladys Hill.
Friday morning. Model Welfare Centre. Districts 1-6. Dr. Sylvia
Smith.
In April, 1931, a Post Natal Clinic was started at the Model Welfare
Centre. This is attended by Dr. Hill and is held in the mornings on the
second and fourth Thursday of the month. Mothers from Districts 1-6 are
referred to this Clinic. The Clinic has been well attended.