Papers of Sylvia May Thorpe

Ms case book, containing notes, graphs and charts, relating to hospital and district cases attended by Sylvia May Thorpe, pupil midwife at the Firs Maternity Hospital, Sherwood near Nottingham (7 February 1946-18 February 1947), recording the occupation and pregnancy history of each patient, the results of tests and examinations carried out during the antenatal period, the home conditions in cases of district confinement, the date and hour that labour began, the date and hour that the membranes ruptured, the date and hour the cervix was fully dilated, the date and hour the child was born, the duration of labour, the results of examinations carried out during each stage of labour, the presentation of the child on birth and if there were any complications during labour, such as haemorrhage, together with detailed descriptions of labour, puerperium and the condition of the mother and child in the days that followed the birth, as well as the postnatal care provided, with an index of cases at the back of the volume. Also with seven registers of cases that she attended whilst training and then as a qualified midwife in Rotherham, Yorkshire and later Southampton, Hampshire. The first three case registers (16 September 1946-14 January 1958) include the personal details of each patient, the number of previous labours and miscarriages, the date and hour of her arrival at the delivery, the sex of the child and whether the child was born living or dead, whether the child was premature or full term, the name of the doctor if called, if there were any complications during labour, the date of her last visit, the condition of the mother and the condition of the child, as well as any further remarks on the delivery and postnatal period. The other four volumes (1 January 1958-4 April 1981) contain the above information as well as whether antenatal care was given by the doctor, midwife or a clinic, the birth weight of the child, the name of the individual who delivered the child, the method of feeding the child and the drugs that were administered.

Sylvia May Thorpe (fl. 1930-1990) was a pupil midwife at the Firs Maternity Hospital in Sherwood, Nottinghamshire between 1946 and 1947. She went on to practice in Rotherham, Yorkshire and then Southampton, Hampshire.

Access restrictions may apply if material includes personal information of living individuals. All other records are open to research by appointment, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. For further information about accessing the collection and visiting the reading room, please contact: archives@rcog.co.uk

There is no record of the date or source of acquisition before the collection was deposited at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in May 2011.

Catalogued by Clare Sexton, Project Archivist in accordance with ISAD(G).

Further details of the contents of this material are available on request.

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This collection was originally deposited at the Royal College of Midwives. It is now held under the terms of a service level collection care agreement at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.