London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Finsbury 1914

Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1914

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50
5. The baby was 3 weeks old and the eighth child. Two
children had died. The family occupied three rooms. The father
was a labourer, in casual employment and now out of work.
There was very little food in the home. A rabbit was kept in a
hutch on the kitchen dresser, and was being fed on vegetable
refuse gathered by the children in market streets. It had been
purchased to serve eventually for a Christmas dinner, but unfortunately
it got voung ones just a few days before Christmas.
Weighing Centres.—There are three municipal weighing
centres in the Borough, held in the afternoon at 2.30 p.m., at the
following times and places.
Tuesday: St. Luke's Institute, Radnor Street.
Wednesday : The branch Library, 47, Penton Street.
Thursday: 268, St. John Street, Clerkenwell.

A summary of the meetings held in 1914 is appended:—

Centre.No. of Meetings.Attendances.Average Attendance.No. of Children.
Penton Street5286117185
Radnor Street521,42527281
St. John Street521,47338278
Totals1563,75924744

Many of the children when first brought to the weighing centres
were found to be fed chiefly on patent biscuits, boiled bread, or
other unsuitable food. The exclusively breast-fed children were,
however, in the majority, and were more than five times as many
as the others who were not breast-fed. Eleven per cent, of the
whole number of babies were breast-fed and received supplementary
feeds of cow's milk. In reoent years the proportion of
breast-fed children to the others in the borough has shown a
definite increase. On the first visits 66 per cent, of the babies
were fat and plump, others, amounting to 31 per cent., were
markedly thin. The residue, about 3 per cent, of the whole