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42
Consultant Ante-natal Clinic.
The attendances necessitated the opening of an additional monthly
session, so from mid-year the consultant ante-natal clinic has been held
three weeks out of every four. During the year 316 women made 433
attendances.
General Practitioner Ante-natal Scheme.
The same arrangements by which pregnant women can receive
ante-natal supervision by their own medical attendants was continued
last year. Again only a very limited use was made of the scheme, 22
patients being seen.
Five women attended for post-natal examination.
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONFINEMENT.
Domiciliary Confinements.
Number of Confinements: The number of births attended in the
district by midwives who gave notice of their intention to practice was
1,955, in 883 cases the attendant being present as a midwife and in 1,072
as a maternity nurse. Of the confinements occurring in patients' homes
in the district, 1,181 were attended by local midwives whose practice is
limited to domiciliary work (805 as midwives and 282 as maternitv
nurses) and 24 by midwives from adjoining areas (17 as midwives and
7 as maternity nurses).
N umber of Midwives: The number of midwives who during the
year notified their intention to practice in the district was 43. Of these
4 removed from the district, leaving 39 in practice at the end of the year.
Of the total number, 22 were resident in the district and carried on a
domiciliary practice almost entirely limited to this area; 11 were engaged
in local maternity homes, most of them entirely, though a few also
carrying on a very limited domiciliary practice; and 8 though resident
in adjoining areas attended some cases in this district. At the end of the
year there were in practice 5 independent midwives carrying on a
domiciliary service, these between them attending 68 cases during the
year.
Midwives Notifications to Local Supervising Authority: By
the rules of the Central Midwives' Board it is obligatory on midwives to
send a notification to the local supervising authority in certain circumstances.
During the year the following numbers of notifications were
received:
Sending for medical assistance 288
Still birth 10
Death of Infant 9
Death of Mother —
Laying out the Dead —
Artificial Feeding 14
Liability to be a Source of Infection 12
Of the 288 summonses to medical practitioners, 59 were on account
of some condition during pregnancy, 70 during labour, 120 in the lying-in
period, and 39 some abnormality of the infant.