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11. Any abnormality discovered by the Midwife during the puerperium
will be reported to St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the form provided, in
the same way as in the Ante-Natal period.
12. The Student shall attend cases every day for the first three days, and
then on the fifth, seventh, tenth, and fourteenth days, and such other times
as the Obstetrical Resident Officer of the Hospital may direct.
13. All cases which are under scale will be offered the services of a Home
Help.
14. In the event of any complaint regarding the work of the Midwife,
such complaint must be directed through the Consultant in charge of the
district to the Assistant Medical Officer of Health.
15. So far as accommodation will permit, beds will be provided in St.
Bartholomew's Hospital for cases of serious emergency.
16. Shoreditch cases who are treated by St. Bartholomew's Obstetrical
Department to have distinctive records.
17. Patients to be advised to apply for the maternity outfits recommended
by the Shoreditch Maternity and Child Welfare Department.
Ministry of Health Memorandum 156/M.C.W.
This Memorandum, issued in December, 1930, engaged the attention of
the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee at several of their meetings in
the early part of the year covered by this Report. In the accompanying
Circular 1,167, it is explained that the essential desiderata are: (1) General
and sustained efforts to enlighten the women of the country as to the importance
of ante-natal supervision ; (2) the improvement and expansion where
necessary of the services of Local Authorities, which must form an important
part of any National Scheme.
The following is a summary of the decisions reached by the Committee
and of action taken : —
(a) It was decided to open an additional ante-natal clinic. For various
reasons, however, it was not found to be practicable to do this until after the
end of the year. This additional clinic has since been started and is now held
at the Model Welfare Centre on Monday mornings. Dr. Gladys Hill is the
doctor in charge.
(b) A circular letter was sent to the Medical Practitioners in the Borough
in which their attention was directed to the Ministry's circular and in which
they were invited to co-operate with the Borough Council schemes for the
care of expectant mothers and the prevention of Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity. The attention of practitioners was directed to the following :
time and place of ante-natal clinics, provision of consultants, facilities for
admission to hospital, sterilized maternity dressings, home helps, meals and
milk for expectant mothers, arrangements for the examination of pathological
specimens, and to the practical instruction in mothercraft which it was proposed
to introduce at the ante-natal clinics.
(c) The importance of the routine medical supervision of midwives cases
during pregnancy is emphasized in the memorandum. For the last two or