Report upon maternity and child welfare for the year 1938 / Monmouthshire County Council.
- Monmouthshire County Council
- Date:
- 1938
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: Report upon maternity and child welfare for the year 1938 / Monmouthshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![The percentage of breast feeding .... 50 The percentage of partially fed 22 The percentage of artificially fed .... 28 The total number of toddlers attending was 615, showing an increase of 39 over last year’s figure. Malnutrition and debility were found in a few cases. These were given free milk, and cod liver oil and malt, and showed improvement. Free food were given in many cases as the earnings of the farm labourers are often inadequate to support large families. The usual iron tonics and cough mixtures were prescribed. The voluntary helpers continue to give their help and my thanks are due to them for this co-operation. 11.—DR. H. V. M. ]ONES, Assistant Medical Officer, Monmouthshire County Council. PENGAM.— Breast fed. Part Breast. Artificially fed. 44 -9% 37 -7% 17 -4% The attendance at this Clinic has been progressively increasing and the numbers for the present year again shewed increase over those of the previous year. The children are well turned out and intelligently cared for—in many cases a noteworthy achievement in the face of economic pressure. The mothers eagerly follow the progress of the children and frequently ask advice. When instructions have been given they are usually well carried out. The percentage of wholly and partly breast fed babies shew clearly that the common sense advantages of natural feeding are being increasingly appreciated. The nutrition of the mothers and children—more especially that of the babies—is good. As Dr. Munro my predecessor commented, there is a certain amount of malnutrition amongst the toddlers. It is significant that these children, below the average in weight, do not gain weight when food is gratuitously supplied. In regard to illnesses, respiratory affections are comparatively the most frequent. This year, however, enteritis has been troublesomely persistent but fortunately it has never been of dangerous severity. Cases have been referred for treatment to the County Dental, Orthopaedic, Aural and Ophthalmic Clinics. Several cases, also, have been investigated by the Tuberculosis Authority —with gratifying negative results. % NANTYGLO. Breast fed. Part Breast. Artificially fed. 36% 16% 48% As hitherto this Clinic has been available on Monday afternoons each week. Slightly less have attended than in the previous year, but there is little or no change to report on, in comparison with the previous years. The advantages of breast feeding of babies is still not appreciated, though one must admit that the art of artificial feeding with dried milks has indeed been well mastered. On the whole the health of the mothers and children has been quite satisfactory. The excellent progress of many of the children has been a real tribute to their. parental care. Some of the children over two years of age have been below the average weight—but these have not gained weight when nourishment has been given them at the Clinic. One has to remember that some people are naturally of smaller physique than others. Again there must be borne in mind the facts that children of the two to five year old group attend the Clinic for the most part only when in need of especial care. The large majority of this “ toddler group ” are not seen.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28861589_0040.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
