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MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
Public Health Act, 1936, Section 203—Notification of
Births.—The births notified under Section 203 as adjusted
by transferred notifications were:—
Live Births 930
Still Births 21
Total 951
Notified by midwives 502
Notified by doctors and
parents 105
Transferred from other
districts 344
Total 951
The total is 160 more than in 1937 and represents 93%
of the births registered during the year.
The number of notified births which took place outside
the district represents 33% of the total—4% more than in the
year before.
The Work of the Centres. The history of the Maternity
and Child Welfare Scheme in the district has been one of
continued expansion and increase not merely keeping pace
with the rapid development but outstripping it in growth.
The year 1938 added another chapter to this story.
The activities of the Maternity Clinics were further increased
by the attendance of 111 more mothers than in the
year before. The total who attended either for ante-natal or
post-natal supervision was 469 representing 42% of the
registered births compared with a percentage of 44 in 1937.
There was a corresponding increase in the work of the
Infant Clinics. The number of infants on the register rose by
550 and the attendances by 4,813. The number of new babies
attending for the first time at 750 was 181 higher and is
equivalent to 75% of the registered live births. The special
Toddler Clinics also experienced a busier year. The number
of toddlers increased to 1,123 and since 451 visits were made
to these Clinics for observation purposes, the total attendances
at these special sessions was 1,574. The increase in clinic
activity represented by these figures is the greatest for any
one year since the inception of the scheme, including the years
of the St. Helier Estate development.
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