[Report 1947] / Medical Officer of Health, Glasgow.

  • Glasgow (Scotland)
Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1947] / Medical Officer of Health, Glasgow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    SECTION III. MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE. During 1947 the birth rate was even higher than in 1946. In consequence the Child Welfare and Maternity Departments had a particularly busy year and the demand on the services was very great indeed. Additional clinic facilities are seriously needed in certain residential areas in the city. Plans for such development have been approved by the Corporation but at present the}' cannot be realised. One new clinic- in a house adapted for the purpose was opened in Balvicar Street in May, and the adaption of Civil Defence buildings in the Hutchesontown area is being proceeded with. A beginning has also been made with the erection of the new clinic at Bengal Street, Pollokshaws, to replace the shop premises at Harriet Street. Negotiations with the University and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children resulted in the establishment of a Child Welfare Clinic in the hospital premises. This clinic is the Child Welfare Clinic for the city ward adjacent to the hospital. Details of the administration of the clinic appear in the body of this Report. Although there was a slight decline in the number of attendances at the ante-natal clinics, all centres continue to work under great pressure. Together, the Maternity and Child Welfare Centres and the Hospital Clinics are responsible for the ante-natal care of over 70 per cent, of all expectant mothers in the city. The public increasingly recognise the value of the services which they can obtain at a well organised ante-natal clinic. Reference must be made to the investigation of the rhesus factor in mother’s blood ar.d its significance in neonatal mortality and morbidity. Arrangements were made during the year with the Public Health Central Laboratory ar.d the Blood Transfusion Service whereby the blood of every expectant mother in attendance at an ante-natal clinic in the city is examined with regard to this factor. All mothers showing a rhesus negative factor and sensitisation are refeired either to Stobhill Hospital or to Southern General Hospital for their confine-