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Under Section 14 (i) of the Midwives' Act, 1918, Medical
Aid was summoned by district midwives in 373 cases.
Analgesia was not administered to any district case, but it
is hoped that this may soon become a recognised feature of the
district work. Transport of the necessary apparatus, especially
in " black-out " days of early 1945, made such a scheme
impracticable.
Care of the Unmarried Mother and her Child
The Council's arrangement with the Essex Diocesan Moral
Welfare Worker proved satisfactory. The unmarried expectant
mothers attended the ante-natal clinic and where thorough
investigation by the clinic medical officer and health visitor
proved that additional help was required, either during pregnancy
or after the baby was born, the co-operation of the Moral
Welfare Worker was sought with satisfactory results. The
majority of these unmarried mothers lived at home with their
parents or other relatives and, therefore, arrangements were
made in the usual way. Where necessary a girl could be
admitted to a special home during pregnancy. Again, the
larger number of these unmarried mothers returned home from
hospital with their babies and with the subsequent help of the
day nurseries for the care of the baby while the mother goes
to work, it has been possible to keep mother and baby together.
During 1945, no girls were admitted to the Post-natal Home
at Buckhurst Hill, Essex, where an agreement exists between
the Essex County Council and the West Ham Council for the
admission of suitable cases, but two unmarried expectant
mothers were admitted to a special ante-natal hostel in Essex.
Home-Help Scheme
This scheme continued on the part-time basis, but owing
to lack of suitable women it has been difficult to administer.
Forty-four applications were granted in respect of maternity
cases, and 3 in respect of general sickness cases.
Care of Premature Infants
The total number of premature births in West Ham during
1945 was 192, of whom 148 were born in hospital.
Of those born at home, namely 44, 10 died during the first
month. Of the 148 born in hospital, 115 survived at the end of
the first four weeks of life, 26 died and 7 were still-born.
Where required, a mother with her premature infant may
be admitted from the district to one of the maternity hospitals
in the area for more adequate supervision and nursing. In
six cases only was this help sought by those in attendance on
the premature infant.
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