[Report 1904] / Medical Officer of Health, Northamptonshire County Council.

  • Northamptonshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1904] / Medical Officer of Health, Northamptonshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/158 (page 13)
    It must, liowevor, 1)6 clearly understood tliat this reduction in the number of midwives in the county does not necessarily mean that a serious want of such women has been created or is likely to entail immediate hardship on those who are accustomed to seek their services. As a matter of fact the areas of the county where a demand may possibly be looked for are very few. The practice of many of the retired w^onien was very small and uncertain, and not a few of these women were glad of an excuse for retirement. The distribu¬ tion of those who remain and are certified as midwives is very fair, and there is no doubt that the vast majority are much better suited for practising than those who have given up. Of the total number of certified midwives in the county, are District Nurses, maintained by some one or other of different Nursing Associations which have been formed, and it is clear, therefore, that the general supervision of all the certified midwives should be quite distinct from any that could be given by any Institution over Avhich the Local Supervising Authority has no control. It is open to any woman hereafter to undergo training and become a certified midwife by examination, and to settle wherever she chooses, and to practise, without obtaining leave from anyone, pro¬ vided that she notifies her intention to practise to the Local Supervising Authority, and the supervision under which she then would come should be clear of any local consideration. It is too early yet to say whether the future demand for mid¬ wives, other than District Nurses supplied by Nursing Associations, will be met without assistance in purely rural localities, but I feel pi'etty sure that independent midwives will always be found in sufficient numbers in most of the urban districts. With the amount of preparation which has gone on during the past year, it seems to me that the work of supervision in the future should proceed smoothly and satis¬ factorily.