View report page

been available for eighteen months, only four complicated
cases have received treatment under the scheme during this
period. It is to be hoped that more advantage will be taken
of these arrangements in the future.
Supply of Milk to Expectant and Nursing Mothers and
Infants.—During the year five hundred and ninety-four applications
for free milk supplies under the Maternity and Child
Welfare Scheme were received from one hundred and fortyone
families, compared with six hundred and fifty-seven
applications from one hundred and forty-three families in
the preceding year. Five hundred and thirty-seven of the
applications were granted, a decrease of ninety-nine on the
figure for 1932.
The milk is granted on medical grounds and the circumstances
of each case are carefully considered by the SubCommittee
dealing with this question.
A close co-operation is maintained between the SubCommittee
and the Public Assistance Committee in dealing
with applicants who are already in receipt of Public
Assistance Benefit.
Dental Treatment.
Dental treatment is also available for children under
school age and for nursing and expectant mothers. The
Dental Surgeon devotes one session a week at the Health
Centre to Maternity and Child Welfare cases. Forty-seven
mothers and ninety-seven children under school age attended
for treatment. One hundred and four general ana;sthetics
and fourteen local anassthetics were administered. Where
necessary, nursing and expectant mothers are provided with
dentures. Eighteen dentures were supplied to mothers
through the dental clinic during 1933. One denture was
repaired.
The dental treatment of expectant and nursing mothers
is of the greatest importance. A woman whose mouth is in
a septic condition during the ante-natal period runs a
definitely increased risk of septic complications after her
confinement. The ability of a woman to nurse her child is
generally dependent on her general health. Decayed and
septic teeth impair the health and vitality of a nursing
mother, and for this reason dental treatment is of great
importance during this period.
The following table gives an indication of the work
carried out by the Dental Surgeon in connection with the
33