London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kingston upon Thames 1948

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]

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21
Other visits to expectant mothers were made by the Health
Visitors from time to time., and the following table gives the
number of visits that were made during 1948 and preceding
years:-

Ante-Natal Visits - by Health Visitors.

19441945194619471948
Up to 5th JulyAfter 5th July
No. of home visits (individual cases)159199292266127120
Total number of visits260307449426179169

(b) Post-Natal Services.
The Post-Natal Services were incorporated with the AnteNatal
Services and arrangements indicated in Section 1 apply
in this section.
The number of mothers who attend the Post-Natal Clinics
has been smalls, but the period under review showed an increase,
i.e. 182 (Up to 5.7.48 -127; After 5.7.48 -55) as compared
with 106 in 1947.
The steady increase from 1926 onwards in the number of
patients attending Ante-Natal Clinics, and work at these clinics,
is convincingly shown in the following rough graph No.3.
With two minor recessions of the numbers of new cases in
1929 and 1933, and the inevitable drop during the war from
1940 - 1945, there was a continual increase up to 1947. The
drop in 1948, I believe to be a temporary one with two
explanations, one due to the new arrangements under the
National Health Service Act, under which general medical
practitioners were more favourably placed financially to
undertake ante-natal care, and many women took advantage of
the new provisions, to attend their family doctors without
the payment of a fee. The other explanation is the drop in
the number of births in the year. It will be noted at the
same time that those attending the Ante-Natal Clinics came
oftener so that the use of the Ante-Natal Clinics was
maintained at a high level.
(iii) INFANT WELFARE SERVICES.
(i) Domiciliary Visits.
An initial visit by a Health Visitor was paid to all
infants twelve to fourteen days after confinement, where a
midwife was in attendance, of where the confinement took
place in the Kingston County Hospital, and twenty-eight
days after the birth where a General Practitioner had
attended.
Advice is given by the Health Visitor on infant feeding
hygiene, and general management of mother and infant.
Further visits were paid according to the domestic
circumstances. Where a family doctor was in attendance, no
further visits were made unless by request of the mother. In
a majority of cases, visits were made every month, or more
often, if necessary, during the first six months, and every
two months at one year, and every three months between one and
five years. More frequent visits were made where there were
difficulties with infant feeding or illness.