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46.
Obviously this must be of great value, especially to
young mothers with their first babies.
During 1930, 2,133 births of living children and
40 births of stillborn children were notified. 265, or
12.2 per cent. were notified by doctors, 1,896, or 87.2
per cent., by midwives, and 12, or 0.55 per cent., by
fathers or persons in attendance at the births. The
stillbirths during 1930 were equal to 1.8 per cent. of
the notified births.
Home Visits bv the Health Visitors.
It has always been emphasised that the work of
the Health Visitor is of the utmost importance to the
successful running of an Infant Welfare Department.
At the end of the year there were seven Health Visitors
on the Council's staff working under my supervision.
It depends very largely upon the success of a Health
Visitor's first visit to a young mother and her first baby
as to whether that mother will come to the clinic to
place her healthy baby under medical supervision or
not. Each Health Visitor is responsible for visiting in
a given area in the Borough and each attends a clinic,
session thrice weekly. With the many economic difficutties
before mothers of the present day and in the
stress of modern life, it is jmportant that the Health
Visitors should persuade these young mothers to attend
the centres.
Besides the visits already mentioned, the Health
Visitors visit the homes of children for whom application
has been made to enter the Day Nursery. These
reports are most useful to the Matron, and they ensure
that only suitable applicants are considered. The Day
Nursery is not intended to relieve the parents of their
responsibilities, but to assist those whose economic
circumstances are such that the mother must go out
to work.
Further, the Health Visitors visit cases of measles
up to the age of five years, except when the disease is