[Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City.

  • Wakefield (England). City Council.
Date:
1944
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Care of Premature Infants. In 1944, in accordance with the wishes of the Ministry, a sum of £80 was voted by the Corporation to be expended on equip¬ ping a small ward in the Maternity Hospital for use as a pre¬ mature baby nursery. There was also to be provided out of this sum, cots and bedding, clothing and feeding bottles to be available for use in suitable cases on the district. A two- bedcled ward was chosen as suitable for this purpose, and this will of course reduce the number of beds available for confine¬ ment cases from time to time. The equipment was not ready for use in 1944. During that year only four babies were sent in from the district. One of these was non-viable and died. Two others were 28 weeks twins and these died. The fourth was a 34 w^eeks infant which survived. During 1944, 47 babies weighing 5| lbs or less were born alive in the Maternity Hospital, 41 of these survived and were discharged. The Care of Illegitimate Children. In accordance with Circular 2866 of the Ministry of Health, special attention was given by the Health Visitors to the illegiti¬ mate children residing in the area, and the Senior Health Visitor gives the following notes relating to illegitimate children registered in the year 1944:— During the year 70 illegitimate births were registered to residents in the city. Thirty-one of these were to married women and 39 to single women. The supervision of these children was carried out by the Health Visitors. Our knowledge of local conditions and contact with family life, simplified the necessary investigations. By the tables given below it will be recognised that the whole problem was further simplified by the fact that in all cases except the seven adoptions, the child was in the Mother’s care and living in an environment of satisfactory home life. Of the births registered to married women 12 were gi ven the father’s name. Five were adopted into good homes. Eight were in the care of both parents, who continued to live together. Five were resident in the home of the Maternal grand¬ parents . One died. Eight left the city. Ten were resident in the home of the Mother’s legal marriage.