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30
MEANS OF PREVENTION.
The measures adopted to combat infant mortality in 1907 in
Finsbury have been as follows:—
1. General Sanitary Work and Visiting of Births.— All practical
sanitary work tends in the direction of reduction of infant mortality, and
much work has been done in various directions in Finsbury of this
character. In addition the Lady Sanitary Inspectors have made a large
number of visits to the mothers of new-born infants, and have given
necessary advice as to satisfactory infant management from the
beginning. I have no doubt as to the value of this work in many
homes.
2. The Infant Milk Depot.—In December, 1905, a special report
was issued by instruction of the Public Health Committee, on the
establishment of an Infants' Milk Depot by a voluntary society in
the Borough, the Social Workers' Association.*
The commencement of this Association furnished the occasion for
the establishment of the Finsbury Depot, and the work entailed was
undertaken by a voluntary Committee of medical men, assisted by
some lady visitors. The object was to establish a Milk Depot under
proper control and on satisfactory lines for a few children, combined
with personal visiting and the education of the mothers of the children.
It was, therefore, a Milk Depot and a school for mothers. The whole
of the necessary funds were subscribed privately. The principles by
which the Medical Committee wished to be guided were:—
(a) Absolute control of the milk and the avoidance of the
serious fallacy of sterilising unclean milk. It was felt that it is
unsatisfactory to attempt to prepare a suitable milk for weakly
infants from the general market supply, which has been shown not
infrequently to be open to grave criticism, and it was also felt that
such unclean, and sometimes infected, milk cannot be made
thoroughly wholesome merely by sterilising it. It therefore
became necessary to seek out a model farm where absolute
*See Report on Public Health of Finsbury, 1904, pp. 115-123,