Memoranda presented to the Royal Commission.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on Population.
Date:
1950
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Memoranda presented to the Royal Commission. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    38/128 (page 32)
    88. Similar dangers may be inherent in the provision of other services besides better housing—e.g. making use of day nurseries may involve increased outlay on clothing and fares. D. Further Factors 89. The preceding sections have attempted to cover the cost of maintaining a child. In addition there is the initial cost of maternity. This would not form a heavy additional burden if it could be spread over the whole life of the child; it is chiefly important because these costs have to be borne over a short period('). The costs for different social groups are shown in Table XXIII. TABLE XXIII The Cost of Maternity(2) Professional lack- icul- and Salaried Bee Manual naa coe Workers Workers Workers | Workers | Workers ey £ £ £ £ First i oe? 9-4 6:0 5:6 7°9 Medical and Births Institutional ——_—___—_—|—_____ a eee Fees Subsequent 16°4 6°8 4-0 3°4 5:6 Births First Other Births 3:3 2:0 1-7 ps | 2:0 Confinement Sn |e LS ES ES A ee a ee oe yee ee Costs Subsequent Births 6°8 Ze 23 22 2°8 First Maternity Births 36:5 aa 28-0 23°0 29°) Garments, ee ee ee fe Baby Clothes and |Subsequent Equipment Births 22:5 20:6 16:3 12:0 17:4 First Total Cost Births S75 44-6 3507. 30:7 39-6 of Maternity © _ —————_—| mcm — Subsequent Births 45-7 | 30-1 22:6 17:6 25:8 Since the date of the enquiry on which these figures are based, the medical and institutional fees and costs of confinement have been very greatly reduced by the National Health Service Act. Some costs will doubtless still remain to be borne by the parents, especially in the case of professional and salaried workers—40 per cent. of whose children were-born in nursing homes. Even in the case of manual workers 7 per cent. of their children were born in nursing homes. The cost of maternity garments, baby clothes and equipment (prams, cots, etc.) was very much greater than the maternity grant of £2 which was paid to the mother before the National Health Service Act. Under this Act the maternity grant has risen to £4 which is still very much below the expenditure incurred. It should be noted that the cost of the first child is much higher than that of subsequent children, and that this discrepancy is () The figures quoted are taken from Maternity in Great Britain, Oxford University Press, 1948. These figures relate to the spring of 1946, since when costs for all services other than medical have probably increased. () Taken from Maternity in Great Britain, Oxford University Press, 1948.