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Thus it comes about that generally speaking about 80 per cent,
of new-born infants reach a mean physical standard in spite of
ill-environment, poverty, or poor physique of mother. In Finsbury,
as a result of enquiry, 69 per cent, were found to be born
healthy.
(d) occupation of Mother during Pregnancy.—Another
somewhat remarkable feature is that in 1,027 cases, or 73.5
per cent, of the total, the mother had no occupation except her
home affairs; in 113 instances the mother had some home work
of an industrial character; in 165 other cases the mother went out
from time to time during her pregnancy to do work, such as
charing or cleaning, and in a few cases factory work; and only in
87 cases, or 6.2 per cent., was the mother away from her home
all day during the time she was pregnant. In some districts,
particularly in the large manufacturing towns of the North of
England, the occupation of the mother and her absence from
home, iboth during pregnancy and after the birth of the child,
is one of the factors most directly affecting the health of the
child. But in Finsbury, in the light of these figures, it can hardly
be supposed that the mother's occupation is frequently detrimental
to the child she bears. It should, of course, be remembered
that this does not exclude any influences unfavourable to
the mother's health prior to the time of her marriage. It was
also found that only 13.5 per cent, of the mothers of these 1,392
living children suffered from poor physique or ill-health. Subsequently
we shall see that 38 per cent, of the mothers of dead
infants suffer from marked ill-health.
(e) Method of Feeding'. —One of the most interesting facts
learned from this work has relation to the feeding of these children.
As many as 1,123 of the total, or 80 per cent., were wholly
breast-fed. Only 7.1 per cent, were fed wholly on cows' milk,
and 2.4 per cent, were fed on "condensed" milk or artificial foods.
It must be borne in mind that the investigation was generally
made before the child was two months old, and almost always
before the end of the third month. It may therefore be said that
in Finsbury, up to the end of the third month, 80 per cent, of the
children are breast-fed. Of the remaining 20 per cent, a large