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36
PREVENTION OF INFANTILE
MORTALITY.
The methods of prevention of Infantile Mortality which have
been in vogue in Finsbury for the last few years were continued
during 1908.
These methods are founded upon the facts elicited as a result of
investigation into infant deaths, viz., that the three chief causes
of death were, Immaturity, Lung Disease, and Epidemic Diarrhoea,
and that these were contributed to largely by the slackness and
ignorance of mothers, who mis-managed or improperly fed their
infants.
Briefly, the preventive measures may be classed as:—(a) General;
and (b) Special.
(a) General.— The general measures are such as are directed
towards the improvement of sanitation generally. These cannot
fail to exercise an influence in prolonging infant life. That they
have not been neglected during the year is evidenced in this
Report.
(b) Special.— These are measures having as a main object the
reduction of the number of deaths of infants under one year of age
by endeavouring to:—(1) Instruct mothers on infant management;
and (2) secure proper feeding of infants.
(1) Instruction of Mothers.— This was carried out mainly by
the Borough Council's two Women Sanitary Inspectors (Mrs.
Greenwood and Miss Jones), who visited the homes and gave
instructions, verbal and printed, and saw and weighed babies, and
talked to mothers about infant management at certain centres in
the Borough, viz., the Milk Depot, the Leysian Mission Dispensary,
and the Peel Institute. The two latter centres were kindly lent
for the purpose by the respective Secretaries, and in each case a
weighing machine was also provided.
The number of first visits paid to infants during the year was
838, the information regarding the births having been obtained
from the Registrar's returns or from notifications under the