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
East Ham 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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39
Aldersbrook Maternity Hospital.
This institution was opened by the Council on 19/10/46, with
a complement of 20 beds.
It comprises two wards of six and seven beds respectively,
three double cubicles and a single cubicle together with admission
unit, labour rooms, sterilizing and bathrooms for the infants, a
night nursery and other facilities and equipment to be found in a
modern obstetrical hospital.
The Unit has provided the additional accommodation urgently
required for mothers and has proved of inestimable benefit in those
cases where treatment is so necessary on medical or social grounds.
Statistics for the year ended 31/12/47 are appended below:—
| Number of maternity cases admitted | 432 | |
| Average duration of stay in the lying-in wards | 12-14 days | |
| Number of cases delivered by:— | ||
| (a) Midwives 408 | 432 | |
| (b) Doctors 24 | ||
| Number of cases in which medical assistance was sought by a midwife in emergency | 29 | |
| Number of cases admitted after delivery | 1 | |
| Number of cases notified as Puerperal Pyrexia | — | |
| Number of cases of Pemphigus Neonatorum | — | |
| Number of infants who have received a supplementary or complementary feed whilst in the institution (excluding those given during the first 3 or 4 days while breast feeding is being established) | 15 | |
| Number of infants wholly breastfed on leaving the institution | 415 | |
| Number of cases notified as Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 1 | |
| Number of Maternal Deaths | — | |
| Number of Stillbirths | 3 | |
| Number of infant deaths within 10 days of birth | 4 | |
Dr. Curnock reports as follows:—
The Maternity Unit enjoys the hospitality of the Aldersbrook
Children's Homes and this pleasant environment has been much
appreciated by our patients; their admission has been arranged