Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health [to] the Corporation of the City of Capetown.

  • Cape Town (South Africa). City Health Department.
Date:
[1956]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health [to] the Corporation of the City of Capetown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    35/102 (page 27)
    Midwives working within the municipal area are supervised by the supervisor of midwifery, and are encouraged to come to the pre-natal centre with their patients to see the doctor. The attendances at the pre-natal clinics in the welfare centres over a period of years are shown in the following table:— Centre. 1956 1954-55 1953-54 1952-53 1951-52 Shortmarket Street 631 449 486 673 696 Aspeling Street ... 2,896 2,212 2,144 2,497 2,515 Bloemhof 628 544 512 504 500 Woodstock 2,552 2,586 2,410 2,136 2,302 Maitland 235 1,575 1,558 1.631 1,355 Brooklyn 39 — — — — Windermere (6th Avenue) . 6,685 — — — — Windermere (8th Avenue) . — 3,916 3,948 4,423 4,309 Langa 1,645 1,453 1,435 1,284 1,102 Athlone ... 3,226 2,936 3,111 3,185 3,394 Bokmakirie 2,763 2,263 1,978 2,320 1,967 Claremont (Station Road) 1,388 1,393 1,283 1,304 1,575 Claremont (Wesley Street) 344 252 387 434 508 Lansdowne 1,096 1,072 1,020 1,023 1,116 Wynberg 1,234 1,146 1,242 1,245 1,346 Parkwood and Southfield 108 252 292 250 270 Retreat ... 3,825 3,274 3,356 3,283 2,967 Steenberg 213 202 284 310 304 Kalk Bay 99 34 66 41 44 Totals 29,607 25,559 25,512 26,543 26,270 Post-natal Clinics. Fortnightly sessions are held at seven of the child welfare centres in co-operation with the South African Council for Maternal and Family Welfare. At these clinics each woman receives a routine post-natal examination and any abnormalities found are treated or, if necessary, referred to a gynaecological department of a general hospital. Instruction in family spacing and limitation is also given when this is deemed advisable for socio¬ medical reasons. During the year there were 893 new cases (128 European and 765 non-European) and a total attend¬ ance of 3,936 (619 European and 3,317 non-European). NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS. The regulations re: Early Notification of Births (made by the Minister of Public Health in 1920) require the notification of all births in the municipality within twenty-four hours. This notification is done in practically all cases by the matron of the nursing home or the midwife attending the case. Births are required, by act of Parliament, to be registered with the Registrar of Births by the father of the child, or some responsible person present at the time of birth, or within 28 days of its occurrence. Vital statistics are based on the registered births. It has recently been noticed that there was a considerable discrepancy between the number of births notified (by nursing homes and midwives) and the number registered. Such a shortfall in the number of registered births affects very materially the accuracy of the vital statistics. The necessary approach has been made to the Registrar of Births and Deaths so as to ensure fuller registration of births throughout the City. During the year 1956 the number of births and stillbirths notified (including births to mothers who were non-Cape Town residents) was 19,965, as follows:— Notified by midwives and nurses (other than extern or intern institutional cases) 6,687 Notified by doctors ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 919 Notified by institutions (extern or intern)... ... ... ... ••• ••• 12,359 There were 159 births notified in Langa Native Township. The births and stillbirths notified as having taken place in the municipality during the year are further classified hereunder. Attended. In private houses: By private doctors ... By private mid wives: Certificated Uncertificated By public midwives or midwife students No doctor or midwife No information In institutions: Public institutions Private nursing homes Births. Percentage. 919 4*6 5,900 29*6 751 3-8 1,567 7-8 23 0*1 13 0*1 9,173 46*0 5,552 27*8 5,240 26*2 10,792 54*0 Of these births 3,155 were non-residents. A comparison of the extern births attended by certificated private midwives in proportion to those attended by uncertificated women is interesting. In the year 1930-31, 80 per cent, of midwife births (extern) were attended by uncertificated midwives. In the present year the percentage is 11*3.