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8
In many cases day-nursery provision played some part in the
reduction of infant mortality and also in the maintenance of health
in older groups of children. Many mothers longed for a dayminding
creche, which afforded a break in the daily routine of
their lives.
A strong plea is made for the continuance of day nurseries.
Whilst appreciating the influence of the home, the demand in
East Ham for places in nurseries is so overwhelming that in
addition to the many applications from mothers desirous of engaging
in industry there are waiting lists of children for whom admission
is sought on priority grounds.
The neo-natal mortality (deaths of children under one month)
was 14.5 per 1,000 live births. The actual figure was 32 of which
15 fall into the category of "prematurity" and others were due to
congenital malformation or birth injuries. Much can yet be accomplished
to prevent the hazards of prematurity in the improved
ante-natal supervision of diet and hygiene of the gestation period.
To relieve the expectant mother of the heavy tasks of daily
housework during the last weeks must reduce the number of
premature births and in this the home help scheme should play an
increasingly important part.
The introduction of scientific methods of blood testing has
undoubtedly saved the lives of a number of so-called " Rhesus "
babies and spared the mothers much unnecessary suffering. It is
recognised that we are down to bedrock in the battle for the
reduction in neo-natal mortality and morbidity, and only the finest
weapons of medical science and painstaking clinical study will
protect infants in these categories.
Such statistics mirror the sustained high standard of our
maternity and child welfare services despite the continued shortage
of trained health visitors. However, new schemes are coming into
operation for the training and employment of selected nurses as
health visitors, the ultimate result envisaged being the enhancement
of our child welfare educative and advisory service within
the home, and it is hoped thereby to achieve a still further reduction
in infantile mortality and morbidity.
Indirect reference has already been made to the advent of
the National Health Service Act on July 5th, 1948, and we are
now able to present a profit and loss account to the burgesses,
since the appointed day.