London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Stepney 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]
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49
In addition to those recorded in the tables above who attended either
the Borough Ante-natal Clinics or the ante-natal clinic of the London County
Council or Voluntary Hospitals, 64 received some ante-natal supervision from
their private doctors and 74 from their private midwives. Taking these
additional cases into account the number who received some form of antenatal
supervision is increased by 138 to 2,693 or 93.39%, leaving only 44 or
1.6% who received no supervision whatever.
The extent and regularity of attendance at the ante-natal clinics is
indicated to some extent in the following table:—
| Number of cases who attended an ante-natal clinic. | Once only. | 2-3 attendances. | 4-5 attendances. | Over 5 attendances. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | 569 | 826 | 1,063 | Total 2,555 | |
| Percentage | 3.54 | 20.79 | 30.18 | 38.84 |
It is apparent from the figures shown in the previous two tables, that the
ante-natal supervision in Stepney, both as regards the number of clinics
provided for each district of the Borough and the degree to which they are
patronised is highly satisfactory, and there is no cause to fear that the mothers
of Stepney are not receiving reasonably full and careful supervision in the
ante-natal period.
Nature of Skilled Supervision at Birth.
It was further thought advisable in 1935 to enquire into the nature of
the skilled supervision each mother had available to her at child-birth, and
there is therefore added below a table showing the qualification of the individual
attendant who actually undertook the delivery of each birth.
Total number of live and still births=3,l 18.
Total number of cases investigated=2,737.
Total number married=2,704.
Total number single= 33.