M 33
140. One of the difficulties encountered in dealing with maternity cases concerns the stay in hospital or nursing home after delivery as, largely owing to economic reasons, the majority leave by the third day. A recent survey of 891 cases delivered in a group of nursing homes over a certain period gave the following figures:-
20 patients left on the day of delivery.
43 patients left on the first day after delivery.
241 patients left on the second day after delivery.
323 patients left on the third day after delivery.
189 patients left on the fourth day after delivery.
25 patients left on the fifth day after delivery.
37 patients left on the sixth day after delivery.
8 patients left on the seventh day after delivery.
Only five patients stayed more than seven days. Every endeavour is being made to persuade patients to stay in the nursing homes for a minimum of seven days after childbirth to enable them to regain their strength before returning to their own homes, usually in overcrowded tenements.
141. At the end of the year there were 765 names on the Midwives Register. The supervisor of midwives inspected their bags, appliances, registers and premises when visiting them. Fifty-three candidates satisfied the examiners at the examinations carried out under the auspices of the Midwives Board.
142. The Medical Department employs sixteen midwives who are posted to government and Chinese public dispensaries as detailed in last year's report. They continued to carry out extremely useful work not only as midwives but also as missionaries of hygiene in the homes of their patients.
143. Visits to expectant mothers numbered 2,339 and to puerperal mothers 19,731. During the year under review 19,544 mothers attended demonstrations on the feeding and general care of babies.
144. 3,666 mothers were visited during the year, an increase of 804 on the figure for 1938. The majority of the mothers visited had enjoyed normal labours, but this number comprised eighteen abortions, twenty miscarriages, forty premature births and sixty-three still-births. In ninety-six instances the mothers were taken by ambulance to hospital, usually on account of delayed labour and usually after the medical officer from the nearest dispensary had been called in. Apart from deaths amongst those complicated cases, only three mothers attended by Government midwives died.
145. A new welfare centre was opened in May at the former Government Civil Hospital, Queen's Road in the western district of Victoria and by the end of the year the centre was being attended by an average of seventy cases daily.
146. Arrangements were completed for the transfer of the Kowloon Centre early in 1940 to a more satisfactory building, which was formerly the Central British School.
147. While child welfare work is carried on at a large number of hospitals and dispensaries the following figures are confined to attendances at the welfare centres at Wanchai, Kowloon and Queen's Road.
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M 33
140. One of the difficulties encountered in dealing with maternity cases concerns the stay in hospital or nursing home after delivery as, largely owing to economic reasons, the majority leave by the third day. A recent survey of 891 cases delivered in a group of nursing homes over a certain period gave the following figures:-
20 patients left on the day of delivery.
43 patients left on the first day after delivery.
241 patients left on the second day after delivery.
323 patients left on the third day after delivery.
189 patients left on the fourth day after delivery.
25 patients left on the fifth day after delivery.
37 patients left on the sixth day after delivery.
8 patients left on the seventh day after delivery.
Only five patients stayed more than seven days. Every endeavour is being made to persuade patients to stay in the nursing homes for a minimum of seven days after childbirth to enable them to regain their strength before returning to their own homes, usually in overcrowded tenements.
141. At the end of the year there were 765 names on the Midwives Register. The supervisor of midwives inspected their bags, appliances, registers and premises when visiting them. Fifty-three candidates satisfied the examiners at the examina- tions carried out under the auspices of the Midwives Board.
142. The Medical Department employs sixteen midwives who are posted to government and Chinese public dispensaries as detailed in last year's report. They continued to carry out extremely useful work not only as midwives but also as missionaries of hygiene in the homes of their patients.
143. Visits to expectant mothers numbered 2,339 and to puerperal mothers 19,731. During the year under review 19,544 mothers attended demonstrations on the feeding and general care of babies.
144. 3,666 mothers were visited during the year, an increase of 804 on the figure for 1938. The majority of the mothers visited had enjoyed normal labours, but this number comprised eighteen abortions, twenty miscarriages, forty premature births and sixty-three still-births. In ninety-six instances the mothers were taken by ambulance to hospital, usually on account of delayed labour and usually after the medical officer from the nearest dispensary had been called in. Apart from deaths amongst those complicated cases, only three mothers attended by Government midwives died.
145. A new welfare centre was opened in May at the former Government Civil Hospital, Queen's Road in the western district of Victoria and by the end of the year the centre was being attended by an average of seventy cases daily.
146. Arrangements were completed for the transfer of the Kowloon Centre early in 1940 to a more satisfactory building, which was formerly the Central British School.
147. While child welfare work is carried on at a large number of hospitals and dispensaries the following figures are confined to attendances at the welfare centres at Wanchai, Kowloon and Queen's Road.
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