MATERNITY WELFARE

Evening Star, Issue 22325, 29 April 1936, Page 9

MATERNITY WELFARE

PROGRESS IN BRITAIN REVIEW BY MINISTER (British Official Wireless.) Pres* Association—By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, April 27. The latest figures showing the progress of maternity and child welfare work were announced by the Minister for Health (Sir Kingsley Wood), who said that the outstanding feature last year was the new low record in the death rate for'inf ants under one year, the rate for England and Wales being 57 per 1,000 live births, against 66 in 1931, 83 in 1921, and 130 in 1911. For this improvement the maternity and child welfare service could rightly claim the major share of the credit. The number of infant welfare centres was now over 3,300 and the number of children who attended the centres for the first tithe in 1935 was 251,000. equivalent to 58 per cent. _ of the total births in the year, and in the same period visits were paid by health visitors to 584,000, or over 97 per cent, of the total births. The Minister said that, on the other hand, it was a matter of concern that the rates of maternal mortality had not shown a comparative advance over the last 30 years. It was at the same time satisfactory to record that the number of maternal clinics in England and Wales reached 1,596 at the end of last year, and during the year were attended by 288,000 expectant mothers, representing 46 per cent, of the total births.

The Minister concluded by expressing hope for the early passage into law of the Government’s Midwives Bill, the second reading of which he will move in the House of Commons on Thursday, and the object of which _ is to secure domiciliary service of salaried midwives throughout the country _ and to raise the'status of the midwives’ profession.