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best to meet the so-called minor troubles of pregnancy such
as constipation, dyspepsia, defective teeth, varicose veins,
etc.; and also the more serious troubles such as cardiac and
pulmonary diseases, albuminuria, etc. This work supplemented
by the sympathetic home visiting of the trained
Health Visitor secures a diminution in the number of miscarriages
and still births, a better preparation for confinement,
a greatly increased interest in the post-natal care of the
infant, an increase in breast-feeding, a diminution of ophthalmia
neonatorum—in a word an increase, not to be measured,
in the happiness of the home.
The Health Visitor as she visits an earlier infant advises
the mother to consult her own doctor or failing this to attend
at the maternity centre; she is thus a perennial recruiting
agent for the clinic.
Still Births :—Many people ask why with all our splendid
modern midwifery machinery we should have still births any
longer. The problem is complex. But it may De stated that
a large number of still births have no relation to midwifery
machinery. They are merely the postponed mortality of
ante-natal maladies and deformities. An unborn infant may
be very seriously diseased and yet continue to live on in the
uterus; he may even be born quite easily; but immediately ne
enters his post-natal life the causes of death which were only
potential before become active and for him birth is the gate
of death. In this way it comes about that many of the
deaths that ought to have been ante-natal come to swell the
already high mortaity which exists after birth.
There were only five still births in the district during
the year.
A great future work lies along the lines of the Development
of Ante-natal Preventive medicine; and the educated
Health Visitor and the Staff of the Pre-maternity Hospital
will fulfil it.
There were no cases of puerperal fever and no cases of
ophthalmia neonatorum in the district during the year.
The Health Visitors paid the following visits during the
year :
Ante-natal 379
Children under 1 1813
Children 1-5 1472
Measles 22
Sore throats and diphtheria carriers 123
The following tables represent in figures something of
the activities of the Maternity and Infant Welfare Centre
and its adjuncts :