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Infant Welfare Clinics
These clinics have continued to run smoothly throughout the year. The mothers bring
their babies regularly and derive great comfort from knowing that their offspring thrive. A careful
check can be kep on those babies who do not progress satisfactorily mentally or physically
and mothers can be given guidance in management and feeding problems. The health visitors
conductseparate sessions which help the doctors to see only those cases in which medical advice
is necessary. The doctors' sessions are thus kept within reasonable numbers so that an unharrassed
atmosphere can be created. This is becoming increasingly necessary and allows
time to penetrate into special difficulties and give suitable advice the kind of advice which is
most likely to betaken.
The importance of recognising as early as possible any signs which might lead later to
some permanent handicaps cannot be overstressed. Routine urine testing of young babies is now
carried out in order to find those rare cases of mental retardation. Very early hearing tests are
carried out with a view to detecting congenital deafness and referenence to the Audiology clinic.
There is a regrettable trend, as the baby grows older, for mothers to attend clinics less
often. The toddler sessions thus seek to obtain more regular supervision of the 2-5 age group;
as only in this way the developmental defects and behaviour problems can be found before they
become serious. All the personnel working in these clinics have been impressed with the
improvements in the higher standard of health and physique among young babies, but all are like-