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35
1 by early induction of labour.
1 by the provision of a home help during the ante-natal period to
help with the house work.
1 by the provision of a home help together with a liberal supply of
extra nourishment.
In the case of these 9 non-preventable deaths it would have been
wiser if 4 of the mothers had not become pregnant—2 of these were
primiparae and 2 were multiparae (one of whom had 16 children in 22
years).
I would like to mention at this stage that all the deaths took place in
hospital and I know that these unfortunate mothers all received the most
expert treatment possible. I can lay no blame on the hospitals.
So far as ante-natal care is concerned I cannot trace any inefficiency on
the part of staff in any case in which the mother actually started to attend an
ante-natal clinic. 9 of these expectant mothers had booked their confinement
with a hospital or otherwise and had received proper ante-natal care; of these
7 are included in the 9 probably unpreventable deaths and 2 in the 9 probably
preventable deaths.
9 of these expectant mothers had not booked their confinement and had
not received ante-natal care—some died before it is generally considered
time to think of the matter and some probably had no intention of considering
it; of these, 7 are included in the 9 probably preventable deaths and 2 in the
probably unpreventable deaths.
I can trace only one death in a general practitioner or private midwife
case, and this case received her ante-natal care from the Council's own antenatal
clinic. Albumenuria was discovered and she was referred for treatment
to a hospital, but she had already damaged her kidneys beyond repair. This
is the case I referred to earlier as a drug abortion. No ante-natal care can
hope to be successful in the face of persistent and secret use of means to
terminate pregnancies.
With one possible exception I cannot definitely attribute any of these
deaths to malnutrition. I can attribute one death partly to Obesity. It is
reasonable to think that the more properly nourished an expectant mother
may be the stronger she will be to withstand an abnormal confinement,