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Council, 317 cases were admitted to hospital for confinement as shown
below:—
St. John's Hospital, Chelmsford 41
Wanstead Hospital 270
Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford 2
Forest Gate Maternity Hospital 2
St. Margaret's Hospital, Epping 2
5. Private Nursing Homes
494 infants were born in Private Nursing Homes situated in the
Borough; the majority of these cases belong to areas outside the Borough.
6. Domestic Help Scheme
During the first part of the year five full-time and one part-time
domestic helps were employed by the Borough Council to provide help
mainly for persons being confined at home.
These members of the Borough staff were transferred on the 5th
July, 1948, to the Essex County Council and at the end of the year six
full-time and two part-time domestic helps were employed mainly on
duties in the Borough of Wanstead and Woodford.
7. Infant Welfare Centres
The following attendances were recorded:—
1948 1947
Children under 1 year of age 17,508 19,073
Children between 1 and 5 years 6,089 4,361
23,597 23,434
8. Daily Guardians
The scheme operating in the Borough whereby certain suitable persons
were registered with the Local Authority as Daily Guardians has been
continued throughout the year. It is still difficult to obtain suitable people
to act in this capacity.
9. Premature Infants
During the year 25 premature infants were born to mothers belonging
to the Borough. Six of these births took place at home, and 19 in hospital
or nursing home. Twenty of these (80 per cent.) were alive at the end of
one month.
10. Infantile Mortality Rate
The infantile mortality rate for the year was 32.7 per 1,000; deaths in
infants under one year totalled 32, fifteen of these occurring within four
weeks of birth.
Causes were as follows:—
Broncho Pneumonia 7
Gastro enteritis 3
Congenital 5
Prematurity 13
Other causes 4
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