[Report 1938] / Medical Officer of Health, Smethwick County Borough.

  • Smethwick (Worcestershire, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1938
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1938] / Medical Officer of Health, Smethwick County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    11. ('ar<liar failuro. Promaturit.v. Twin I'irth IL’. Cardiac failure. Prematurity. Twin liirtli I. i. Birth injurio.';. Fractured skull ... II. Prematurity. Cerebral lia'morrhaee. Breech d('liv('ry 15. Peritonitis 16. Pneumococcal meningitis 17. C<‘rebral liauiiorrhage. Precipitate delivery after version IS. Cerebral htemorrhage 19. Cardiac failure. Prematurity. Twin birth •JO. Intraeranial ha'iiiorrhage and pre¬ maturity No P..M. Xo P.5r. Xo P..M. Xo P.M. P.M. Pneumonia and periton¬ itis. pneumococcal. Xo P.M. Xo P.:\T. p.:\r. Xo P.M. Xo p.^r. .BIDWIVES. A.s stated in the last report, the Municipal ^Midwifery Scheme of the Council, drawn u]) in accordance with the ^lidwives’ Act, 19.'](), came into (.peration on IMarch 1st, 19.‘)7. The full staff consists of eight Municipal midwives, each of whom will be exjiected to d(v a maximum of about 80 to 90 cases per year. Tbei'e is at present one vacancy. There are in addition two independent midwives living and practising in the Borough. The following figures show the work done by the iNFuniciiial midwives during the year. Xumber of hookings ... ... ... ... ... 501 Ante-Xatal visits jiaid (excluding ineffective! ... .“1.094 Births attended ... ... ... ... ... 43d X’ursing visits ... ... ... ... ... 10.400 About one-third of the ante-natal visits were ineffective. The scheme has now develojied fully, and as the two independent midwives working in the Borough only take in-patients, almost all the deliveries in Smethwick, excluding those admitted to St. Chad’s Hospital, arc conducted by our midwi\e.s. The high standard of the work has b('eu favGuirably commented on by several of the general practitioners in the area. The inauguration of the (Municipal (Midwifery Scheme enabled the .\uthni-ity to extend and de\-elop the post-natal work. Tn the imst the •nttendanccs at the sintrle weekly jmst-natal clinic were only of women confined at .St. Chad's, but now all motbers are encouraged to attend till two occasions after the birth cf the child. The attendances during the yeai' (1.023) were more than double those for the previous year. The number of cases in which medical aid was summoned in 1938 and the previous four years is set out below. These figures include all midwives. (Municipal and independent. 1934 1935 284 241 1936 288 1937 1938 253 241