View report page

41
Daily Minder Scheme.
Very little advantage was taken of this scheme. During the year
34 mothers registered, being prepared between them to take care of 61
children. Probably partly because of the delay in their being requested
to look after any children, on many occasions when a mother finally
called it was only to find out that the proposed guardian had reconsidered
the matter. Five withdrew, leaving 29 names on the register at the end
of the year; of these, 13 are registered for one child, 11 for two and 5 for
three. The greatest number of minders looking after children though, at
any one time was only 10; 19 have at some time received children,
though 10 have had none.
The scheme does not seem to be popular with mothers who wish their
children looked after, as few whose application for admission of their
children to the nurseries had for any reason to be declined made arrangements
for the same children to be looked after by minders.
MATERNITY SERVICES.
ANTE-NATAL SUPERVISION.
Home Visiting.
During the year the health visitors paid a total of 1,099 visits to
expectant mothers, 836 being first visits.
Ante-natal Clinics.
The following summarises the work done at the clinics during the
year:
Total number of expectant mothers attending the clinics 3,128
Total number of attendances by expectant mothers at all
clinics 14,874
Percentage of total notified births (live and still) represented
by the number of expectant mothers attending
the clinics 86
Vitamin, etc., Preparations.
The expectant mother is entitled to a pint of milk either free or for
2d., to a priority issue of 3 eggs per week; and to a capsule containing
vitamins A & D, or to cod liver oil and concentrated orange juice.
Clothing Coupons.
The extra clothing coupons to which expectant mothers were entitled
had been distributed from the Public Health Office, an arrangement
which worked quite smoothly and which enabled health visitors to get in
touch with some few mothers of whom otherwise they would not have
learned until the baby was born. Because such a high proportion of the
expectant mothers here attend the ante-natal clinics this number was
comparatively small, and amongst them were those who did not in any
event wish to avail themselves of the services of the health visitor.
While districts with a low percentage attending the ante-natal clinics
might therefore have regretted the change made in July by which the
issue of the extra clothing coupons was henceforth to be made from the
Food Office, in this area it could not be held that the change did really
result in the disadvantages that some areas expected to experience.