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70
Report of the Medical Officer of Health for 1931.
Supply of Milk.
During the year 1,002 families were supplied with milk
under the Milk (Mothers and Children) Order, 1918; 216 in
Clapham; 64 in Putney; 165 in Balham; 81 in Streatham;
151 in Tooting; 69 in Southfield; 150 in Fairfield; and 106
in Springfield. The total cost to the Council was £2,420 18s. 11d.
Women and children in receipt of milk under the Council's
scheme are expected to attend the Welfare Centre during the time
that the milk is being granted, though this rule is not enforced
in cases where there is some very good reason for the mother's
non-attendance, such as a case of infectious disease in the home.
There is little doubt that many mothers and children have
benefited from the supply of free milk since the scheme was instituted.
In many cases the milk granted has enabled nursing
mothers to prolong the period of lactation, and the records kept
at the Welfare Centres show good results in the health and general
well-being of many of the infants.
Dental Treatment.
The teeth of mothers and children attending the Welfare
Centres are examined as a routine by the Medical Officers at the
Centres.
The Council has also arranged for periodical dental inspections
to be carried out at the Centres by dental practitioners. These
inspections are made at intervals of three or six months.
The dental treatment is carried out by the British Dental
Hospital and by the six dental practitioners who carry out the
dental inspections. Treatment is available for all expectant and
nursing mothers for whom dentures can be provided and for
children under five years of age. Where a denture is required
the patient is assessed in accordance with a scale approved by
the Council.
325 cases came under treatment during the year—of whom
251 were expectant and nursing mothers and 74 were children.