[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City.

  • Wakefield (England). City Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    babies born alive to residents of the City except for one whose mother came from Glasgow and was regarded as a City resident whilst she was confined at Mamygates Maternity Hospital The records show that 11 babies died in the first 24 hours of life, 3 more before the second day of life, and one other by the fifth day, showing a total of 15 before the end of one week Of the remaining babies, 1 died in the second week, 3 in the third week, 3 more in the second month, and the last aged 6 monthse The interesting factor which has emerged from these figures, having in mind that we are dealing with a very small number in relation to national statistics, is that of the 23 infant deaths, 12, or slightly higher than 50$ was associated with prematurity, compared with a national 24$ of deaths recorded in the first week of life recently reported upon by the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Social Security* By 196?* the infant mortality rate in Wakefield had reduced to 15®4 and was the lowest ever recorded in the City., I view with concern the rising figures in the past three years to the highest figure in the past decade* There are obviously many factors which can result : infant mortality,. Poor housing with its evil consequences 1i,mp v^ in the used to be an important one, but slums no longer exi.s City. It is possible that the desire to attain higher standards of living causing an increasing number of women to work, outside the home and possibly neglecting their ante-natal care might now be a primary factor in the swinging over of 'the pendulum.. What,ever may be the cause, it is important that ail medical, nursing and para-nursing staff engaged in caring for the expectant mother must endeavour to inculcate high standards of pre-natal care * PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES After discussions in 1969 with the general practitioners, it was agreed that the Health Visitors should be attached to groups of practices as from the 1st January, 1970, This meant that a Health Visitor, instead of having a geographical area of the town, would deal only with these patients of the general practitioner to whom she was attached, regardless of where they lived within the City*