London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Barnes 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barnes]
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58
MIDWIFERY AND MATERNITY SERVICES.
An 'ante-natal clinic, held at the Council's Maternity and Child
Welfare Centre, Essex House, is available for expectant mothers and
for post-natal cases. The work of the clinic is referred to on page 61.
The services of a Consulting Obstetrician are available in cases of
difficult or complicated labour, and in cases of puerperal fever or
puerperal pyrexia. During 1938 these services were utilised on three
occasions—one a case of puerperal pyrexia, another a difficult labour,
and the third post-partum hæmorrhage with subsequent pyrexia.
Information as to the number of midwives practising in the Borough, the number of confinements attended by these midwives, and the number of cases in which medical aid was summoned during the year, is given in the following table:—
| Domiciliary Midwives. | Midwives in Institutions. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Total number of midwives practising at the end of the year in the Borough of Barnes:— | |||
| (a) Employed by the Local Supervising Authority | 2 | - | 2 |
| (b) In private practice | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 2. Number of cases in the Borough of Barnes attended during the year by midwives:— | |||
| (a) Employed by the Council— | |||
| (i) As midwives | 68 | — | 68 |
| (ii) As maternity nurses | 12 | — | 12 |
| (b) In Drivate nractice— | |||
| (i) As midwives | 67 | 36 | 103 |
| (ii) As maternity nurses | 88 | 176 | 264 |
| 3. Number of cases in which medical aid was summoned during the year under Section 14(i)of the Midwives Act, 1918, by a midwife:— | |||
| (i) Engaged in domiciliary practice | 43 | Total | 44 |
| (ii) For cases in institutions | 1 | ||
Institutional provision for maternity cases under the Council's
Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme was continued unchanged
during 1938.
Of the 378 total births assignable to the district 217 occurred
in institutions (hospitals or maternity homes situated either within