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40
(I have to thank Dr. O'Shiel for the following report upon the work of the
Maternity and Child Welfare Section. I may say that I am in absolute
agreement with his observations).
The year has been remarkable for the lowness of the figures recorded in
Maternal Mortality and Infant Mortality.
As has been mentioned elsewhere in this report both are phenomenally
low, being 6 and 191 respectively compared with 18 and 288 in 1934, giving
mortality rates of 1.9 for Maternal deaths compared with 5.45 for last year,
and for Infant Mortality 63.0 compared with 87.2 last year.
The high figures recorded last year were exceptional, and it appears to
me that the low figures this year may be regarded in the same light, for I fear
it is too much to hope that such excellent figures can be maintained. The
Infantile Mortality figures for 1936 will almost certainly be affected by the
measles epidemic.
The work of the department has proceeded normally during the year.
There were few changes on the staff. Two of our Health Visitors, Miss D.
Blackmore and Miss A. Carty, attended a revision course for Health Visitors
at the Annual Winter School for Health Visitors held at the Bedford College
for Women under the auspices of the Women's Public Health Officers Organisation
from 30th December, 1935, to 10th January, 1936.
One new Borough Ante-Natal Clinic was opened during the year at Hughes
Mansions, Vallance Road, on 13th August. This clinic undertakes much of the
work previously done by St. Peter's Hospital where the Ante-Natal Department
has closed down. Most of the cases in attendance at the Hughes Mansions
Clinic are booked for delivery at Mile End Hospital and the establishment of
this Ante-natal Clinic in Vallance Road has been a great boon to the mothers
of Whitechapel, saving them from undertaking long journeys to Mile End
Hospital.
There is an excellent system of co-operation in practice between the
Clinic and Mile End Hospital and one of our Health Visitors attends at Mile
End Hospital Ante-natal Clinic weekly to receive and pass on reports of the
doctors and to assist the Hospital almoner by her knowledge of the Whitechapel
District and its mothers. This alliance has also proved most valuable in dealing
with those mothers whose infants will eventually come under the Infant Life
Protection Acts as foster-children.