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Road, Plaistow. The houses there have been built to accommodate
the population de-housed in connection with the Victoria
Dock Road Scheme; but in addition the mothers already living
in that area of the Borough have been unable to attend any
Welfare Centre regularly owing to the far distance they have had
to travel to reach a Clinic. Sessions are held at all these Clinics
for infants and children up to 5 years of age; there arc antenatal
and post-natal sessions; also dental treatment for mothers and
young children.
A second full-time Assistant Lady Medical Officer for Maternity
and Child Welfare has recently been appointed to assist in
the work.
This increase in clinic work has resulted also in the need for
employment of additional Health Visitors; six additional fullyqualified
Health Visitors have been appointed by the Council,
making a total of eighteen full-time Municipal Health Visitors.
A Dental Nurse has also been found necessary, thereby relieving
the Health Visitors of attendance at ordinary dental sessions.
The two Municipal Antenatal Clinics were well attended during
1930: the private midwives continue to use the facilities
offered to them, and the majority of patients are referred to the
Clinic by midwives, to whom a report is sent after each examination
of their patients. Attendances of antenatal mothers have been
very regular: the Health Visitors follow up all mothers who report
at the Antenatal Clinics, to give advice regarding preparation
for confinement at home. Absentees from the Antenatal Clinics
are visited at once by a Health Visitor to ascertain the reason for
non-attendance on the appointed date; in this way expectant
mothers are kept under close supervision.
In addition to medical examination of every expectant mother
at each visit, opportunity is taken to teach the mothers something
of the early care of infants by instruction in breast hygiene
and suitable diet with a view to breast feeding later. Model garments
are displayed, and help given in the. making of such garments.
That this help is appreciated is borne out by the fact that
mothers who attend an Antenatal Clinic generally adhere to a
more regular routine in the management of their infants, refraining
from giving the infants "dummies" to suck, and from other
irregularities in management.
Prejudice against attending an Antenatal Clinic for examination
and advice is fast dying out in this Borough : the majority of
expectant mothers regard antenatal care as a natural and necessary
supervision. One of the private midwives in practice in the
Borough recently stated that nearly all her patients come to her
asking for a letter of introduction and recommendation to the
Antenatal Clinics.
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