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112
VIII.—MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
For the purpose of Maternity and Child Welfare work the Borough is
divided into seven districts. Six of these are allocated to the six Municipal
Health Visitors whose office is at the new Public Health Offices, 8-14,
Laburnum Street, and one to the School for Mothers, a voluntary organization
employing two Health Visitors, that for many years has done most
excellent work in the Borough. The School for Mothers is at 28, Herbert
Street, where the Health Visitors have their office, and where Centres are
held.
Home Visiting.
Under the provisions of the Notification of Births Act, 1907, and
extending Act, 1915, all births must be notified to the Medical Officer of
Health within 36 hours. Acting upon the information thus received the
Health Visitors visit all babies born in their district as soon as the Midwife
in charge has left, which she ordinarily does when the baby is ten days old.
The number of live births notified during the year was 1,448, and the
number of still births 51. There were 51 illegitimate births. The number
of registered births was 1,494. The number of births notified and registered
are not strictly comparable as the time allowed to lapse is different under
the two acts, but the fact that the ratio of births notified to births registered
was 96 9 to 100 gives an indication that notification is being carried out in a
satisfactory manner.
Particulars of the visits paid by the Health Visitors will be found in the
table at the end of this section of the report. The question of the adequacy
of the home visiting engaged the attention of the Committee during the year
and soon after its conclusion the Council adopted a recommendation to
appoint two additional Health Visitors in the place of certain part-time officers
and holiday locum tenentes. These arrangements will fall to be described in
detail in the next report. They are mentioned here for the reason that it is
intended that they shall be the means of increasing the number of visits paid
to the homes. As has often been stated in these reports, home visits are the
foundation upon which all other Maternity and Child Welfare work rests.
Infant Welfare Centres.
At the end of the year the weekly programme of Welfare Centres was as
follows (Mornings, 9.30-11.30. Afternoon, 2-4):—
MONDAY. Afternoon.
Model Welfare Centre, 210, Kingsland Road. District 2.
Dr. Olivier Richards.
Hoxton Market Mission. District 6. Dr. R. Hudson.
TUESDAY. Morning.
Model Welfare Centre, 210, Kingsland Road. District 1.
Dr. E. C. McGregor.
Hoxton Hall, Hoxton Street. District 4. Dr. R. Hudson.