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44.
Notification of Births.
Under the provisions of the Notification of Births
Acts, 1907 and 1915, early notice of the birth of any
child occurring in the Borough comes to the Medical
Officer of Health, who passes the information to the
Maternity and Child Welfare Department for due action
by the Health Visitors. The Health Visitor in whose
area the event has occurred visits the home a fortnight
later, i.e., when normally the doctor in charge or midwife
has ceased to attend, and does What she can to help
the mother to meet her new responsibilities. Obviously
this must be of great value, especially to young mothers
with their first babies.
During 19.29, 2,076 births of living children and 42
births of stillborn children were notified. Two hundred
and forty-seven, or 11.(j per cent., were notified by
doctors; 1,861, or 87.8 per cent., by mid wives; and
ten, or 0.47 per cent. by fathers or persons in attendance
at the births. The stillbirths during 1929 were equal
to 1.9 per cent. of the notified births.
Home Visitation by the Health Visitors.
The work of the Health Visitors has been already
repeatedly referred to. At the end of the year six Health
Visitors were on the Council's staff working under my
supervision and their home visiting is probably the
most important feature of the work of this Department.
It depends very largely upon the success of a Health
Visitor's first visit to a young mother with her first baby
as to whether that mother comes to the clinic to place
her healthy baby under medical supervision or not.
They are fully trained nurses, possessing also the
certificate of the Central Midwives Board, and, in
addition, a certificate in hygiene and public health from
one or other of certain bodies approved by the Ministry
of Health. Each Health Visitor is responsible for visiting
in a given area in the Borough, and they each attend
a clinic session twice weekly.