[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon].

  • Croydon (London, England). County Borough.
Date:
[1925]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    51/190 page 49
    49 seaside. I he admissions are based on recommendations received from the medical officers of the Infant Welfare Centres. During the year 52 mothers, and 119 children under 5 years of age, were sent away to convalescent homes. (i) Home Nursing. As set out in another section, arrangements were made early in 1925 for the home nursing, by the staff of the Croydon Nursing Service, of selected cases of measles, whooping cough, ophthalmia neonatorum, puerperal fever, epidemic diarrhoea and infantile paralysis, where the home arrangements were found to be unsatis factory and the patients could not be removed to a hospital. (j) Care of Illegitimate Infants. Following on a consideration of the report set out in the Appen dix, drawing attention to factors in the high illegitimate infant mortality, the Croydon Mothers' and infants' Association estab lished a small committee of ladies prepared to take the initiative in assisting unmarried mothers to remain with their infants instead of placing them out with foster-mothers, and of persuading rela tions to receive mother and child, or, in the alternative, of provid ing suitable private homes into which mother and child could be received together. Underlying their work was to be the definite principle that the chief factor in the high mortality among illegiti mate infants was the failure of the child to receive direct maternal care. For the first year the Corporation are making a grant up to £100 for incidental expenses in connection with the boarding of mother and child where the mother is not earning sufficient for the purpose. [COPY.] REPORT ON MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY. Maternal and Infant Mortality. In accordance with the instructions of the Sub-Committee, I beg to submit the following report on a number of aspects of maternal and infant mortality in Crovdon. The report arises out of Circular No. 517, of June 30th, 1924, on maternal mortality, recently received from the Ministry of Health; but I have felt is desirable to include certain points not included Health; but I have felt it desirable to deal with certain points not included A. Maternal Mortality. The maternal death-rate for every 1,000 live births in England and Wales for the years 1913-22 was 3.8; in Croydon 3.4. The following table, while showing for the years 1919-22 a similarly satisfactory position in relation to the whole country—and indicating, incidentally, that maternal mortality was higher in the later than in the earlier period—proves that the position needs further examination when comparison is made with other large urban
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