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MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
INTRODUCTION.
The scheme which is administered by the County Borough
Council for the care of the mother and her infant has been officially
recognised as giving excellent results. The extent of the scheme
and the nature of the results may be appreciated from the information
which is given in the following pages. In this sectnon I have
confined the text to information relating to the practical aspects
of the service, and I have dealt with the statistical aspect of the
diseases of infancy and of motherhood—expectant or realized—
in another section. In this way the data which are of interest to
the statistician appear together in one section, but those who are
concerned mainly with maternity and child welfare work should
refer also to the appropriate tables in the section on Vital
Statistics.
Where so much is good, the indication of certain chinks in
the armour might appear to savour of an act of derogation. Yet
no service can be perfect, and those who arc familiar with this
service will understand that any suggestions for improvement
must be taken as guides for future progress rather than
admissions of present weaknesses. My predecessor, the late Dr.
F. Garland Collins, set out in an excellent report certain improvements
which could be effected in the maternity service. I have
recently attempted to give effect—though in a slightly different
manner—to certain of these suggestions, and other aspects of
this service will have my attention in the near future. With
reference to the care of the child, there does appear to be a gap
between the end of infancy and the beginning of school life. The
health of the toddler is a matter which deserves the attention of
a large and progressive authority, and at a later date I hope to
put forward certain suggestions for the improvement of this
service.
In the preparation of this part of the report I have to
acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Helen Campbell, Senior
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