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MATERNITY SERVICES.
The facilities offered to mothers, expectant or parturient,
include:—
Ante-Natal:—Ante-natal supervision by home visiting; antenatal
clinics; general practitioners' ante-natal scheme; consultant
ante-natal clinic; consultation at the home in exceptional cases;
provision of milk; dental treatment, including provision of dentures;
ophthalmic treatment; and artificial sunlight treatment.
At confinement:—Assistance in payment of midwife's fees;
home helps; maternity sets; consultation in cases of difficult
labour; emergency maternity outfit; institutional accommodation ;
and ambulance for removal of women in labour.
Post-Natal:—Post-natal examination at the clinics, including
consultant clinic; provision of milk to nursing mothers; dental
treatment; artificial sunlight treatment; convalescent homes;
home nursing; provision of consultations for cases of puerperal
infection, and institutional treatment for such cases.
ANTE-NATAL SUPERVISION.
Home Visiting.
During the year the health visitors paid a total of 1,221 visits
to 717 expectant mothers. One of the repercussions of the operation
of the Midwives Act will be the subtraction of ante-natal care from
the duties of health visitors.
Ante-natal Clinics.
At the beginning of the year ten weekly and one fortnightly
ante-natal sessions were held at eight separate premises. One
session at the Church Hall, Imperial Drive, was transferred to the
Spiritualist Hall, Vaughan Road, and a weekly session was opened
at the Baptist Church Hall, Streatfield Road, Kenton, so that at
the end of the year there were, in the district, 11 weekly and one
fortnightly ante-natal clinics held at ten separate addresses.
Since the inception of the midwifery service, ante-natal clinics have
been staffed by one midwife and one health visitor, instead of as
formerly by two health visitors.
The following summarises the work done at the clinics during
the year:—
Total number of expectant mothers attending the
clinics 1,789
Total number of attendances by expectant mothers
at all clinics 8,585
Percentage of total notified births (live and still)
represented by the number of expectant mothers
attending the clinics 57