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An extra session was also given at York House to day nursery students,
at the request of the head of the women's department of the Acton Technical
College.
The experiment has been very useful. It has enabled us to study the
reactions of the audiences under varying clinic conditions, to appreciate how
long a film should run without tiring the mothers, and to develop our
cinematograph technique.
"Your Children and You" and "Round Figures" were equally good
films, but together the running time was about 35 minutes. After showings at
the Art School and Hampton it was decided that, although the films were
well received, "Round Figures" should be cut from the programme in order
to reduce the show to 25 minutes. This is about right. Otherwise the infants
and toddlers present with their mothers become fidgety and attention is lost.
Not all the centres lend themselves to film shows. The Art School and
Hampton centres are the most suitable and a full.size 52in. by 40in. picture
can be projected on the screen. The best "atmosphere" was at Hampton,
where the room is a convenient size and a small cinema effect is obtained.
A certain amount of traffic while the show is on is unavoidable at York
House and Whitton. At Hampton Wick it is not possible to show the full'
size picture, but the smaller one proved quite satisfactory.
The projector, resistance, screen, stand and apparatus required is bulky and
heavy equipment, and influenced the decision to show the film for a whole
week at each centre.
It is, of course, difficult accurately to assess the measure of our achievement
in this experiment. In its initial stages the attenance figures are no
reliable guide, but there is no doubt some of the lessons to be learned from
the film have been taken home by the mothers and will prove of benefit.
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
The whole of the work in this section covers the period 1st January to
4th July, 1948, only when the Maternity and Child Welfare services were
transferred to the County Council under the National Health Service Act.
Midwifery and Maternity Services.
The total number of births notified as occurring in the borough during
the period under review was 703. This does not include births which occurred
elsewhere but which were subsequently transferred to Twickenham.
Of the births occurring in the borough during the above period, 477
were attended by midwives in their capacity as midwives and 226 by doctors.
Municipal midwives attended 195.149 in their capacity as midwives and 46 as
maternity nurses with doctors in charge.
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