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cases have necessarily to be dealt with by this health visitor. Arrangements with the
Middlesex County Council have been made for the admission of cases to the pre-natal
home at Golders Green and the post-natal home at Hendon.
It will be noted that a rise in the figure of illegitimate live births occurred in 1944
which emphasises the need for this special work.
Ultra-Violet Light Clinics.
A new ultra-violet light apparatus was provided at the Branch Health Centre and a
Sunlight Clinic started there in April. Two sessions a week were held at the Branch
Centre in addition to the clinic held twice weekly at the Manor House. The treatment
is for expectant mothers and children under five years of age and produces very good results
in the majority of cases.
Ultra-violet light treatment is especially necessary for young children showing early
traces of rickets infection, as the amount of natural sunlight during winter months is so
limited. All patients are weighed at the commencement and finishing of a course of
treatment, and the majority show a distinct gain in weight, improvement in appetite and
general tone.
It will be noted from the figures, that there was a very large increase in the number
of expectant mothers attending this clinic, and there is no doubt that ultra-violet light treatment
for expectant mothers may have a good effect on the infant mortality rate.
Table C.
Number of sessions held : 85.
Number of attendances:—
First Visits. Re-visits
Mothers 44 579
Infants 178 1,434
Post-Natal and Birth Control Clinic.
Table D.
Number of sessions held: 21.
Number of attendances:—
Post-Natal Birth Control.
First Visits 86 25
Re-attendances 69 111
The post-natal clinic is of great value in preventing chronic ill-health in mothers.
Small difficulties discovered and remedied at the post-natal clinic can have an immensely
beneficial effect on the permanent physical condition of these patients, and it is desirable
that, after the war, the facilities for post-natal examinations should be increased in the
borough.
Ante-Natal Clinics.
The number of new patients seen at the ante-natal clinics during the year was 710,
and the total number of attendances was 3,894 (3,348 at the Manor House and 1,646 at the
Branch Centre).
527 cases were completed during the year, and the attendances in respect of these
were as follows:—
No. of Cases.
One attendance 6
Two attendances 47
Three attendances 59
Four attendances 77
Five attendances 116
Six or more attendances 182
No attendance 30
For table of comparison of figures for last eight years, and the proportion of new
cases to re-visits, see Appendix Table X.
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