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27
The foregoing survey indicates briefly the degree of completeness
to which the organisation of health visitation in Finsbury has
now attained. For the further extension of the work, the details
are planned on a sufficiently wide basis to permit of their easy
adaptation to fresh measures and to new duties.

The numbers for 1913 were 284 first births, 2,082 total births,
and 5,964 visits. In 1914 the total number of births in the
Borough was 2,558, so that these figures show that during the
year over 60 per cent. of all the births that occurred in Finsbury
came under the supervision of the Public Health Staff. In the
mean streets of the Borough, all the births are visited. The
number of twins born and visited was 35 sets, or one set of twins
for every 73 births. For the whole country, it is usual to find that
twins occur in one out of every 60 to 80 births, and triplets in one
out of 6,000 to 7,000 births.
Method of Feeding.—Nearly all the Finsbury mothers breast
feed their babies, wholly or partially, as long as they possibly can.
For this there are many reasons: they have strong maternal
instincts, they know that suckling is cheaper than artificial feeding
and believe that it hinders or prevents conception. When their
babies are a month old, or at most three months old, a large
proportion of the mothers have to return to work. Still many
try to continue breast-feeding by coming home at meal times or
by suckling the baby in the house of a friend, where it has been
taken earlier in the day, near the factory or workshop.