View report page

11
Patients suffering from financial distress have been assisted in
many ways permitted by the Council, but special mention must be made
of the grant which enables butter to be given to certain undernourished
mothers. There has been a remarkable improvement in
every case so helped.
To complete the supervision of pregnancy a post-natal examination
should be made six weeks after delivery. Patients are urged to
return for this final visit, and to make it easy for them, and less
alarming, they are told to return to their usual ante-natal clinic.
Unfortunately in 1937 there has been a decline in the number of postnatal
cases, only 129 attending at The Chestnuts and 100 at Bruce
Castle. This was undoubtedly due to the overcrowding in the earlier
months at the clinics.
Complete as these services appear to be, there are still ways in
which they can be further improved. Doctors and patients are eagerly
awaiting the long overdue dentist for the mothers. A very high percentage
of the patients need this attention, and it is to be hoped by
careful supervision and timely treatment the young mothers will be
saved much that their older sisters have suffered in pain and loss.
Another way in which material help could be given to the mothers
suffering in health through disease, or debilitated by child-bearing is
in the provision of home helps before the actual confinements. The
last few weeks of pregnanc-v drains the vitality of such patients and
causes profound morbidity, which could be prevented.
Yet another way in which morbidity could be reduced would be to
permit the Municipal midwives to continue the nursing of patients
discharged early from hospital. The midwives must now nurse their
patients for 14 days, whereas many patients are discharged from
hospital on the 10th, 9th, or even the 8th day.
If these mothers could be given the services of the Council's
midwives much debility could be prevented.
Gynaecological Clinic.
I am indebted to Miss Gladys A. Dodds, M.B., M.C.O.G.,
F.R.C.S.Edinburgh, Medical Officer in charge of the Clinic for the
following report on the year's work:—