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Notification of Births Act, already referred to. As far as possible,
all mothers of first babies have been visited, and more than one
visit paid.
At the centres, simple talks have been held with each mother, and
her interest in her child's progress stimulated by taking and recording
its weight at each visit.
(2) Feeding of Infants.— The object throughout has been
the encouragement of breast, as opposed to artificial, feeding.
Mothers able to suckle their infants have been urged to do so, and
advised to resort to artificial feeding only when, as unfortunately
frequently happens, the breast milk has disappeared. When this
occurred, instructions were given as to the precautions to be adopted
in connection with artificial methods.
The Infants' Milk Depot.— For the furnishing of artificial
food for infants deprived of their mother's milk, the Infants' Milk
Depot was provided. This enterprise was taken over from the
Finsbury Social Workers' Association, in March, 1906. Primarily
the object of the Depot was the reduction of the infantile mortality.
This it sought to attain (a) by providing, for bottle-fed children,
milk mixtures as closely approximating human milk as possible,
prepared from milk which should be of the best quality, clean, pure,
and free from disease germs, such as those of tuberculosis; (6) by
supervising the feeding of each infant, making such alterations in
its diet as its progress—judged by variations in its weight and
condition—warranted; (c) by advising mothers as to the care of
the children.
Each child received individual attention, which was recognised to
be essential if good was to be done.
The most careful discrimination was exercised in connection with
the admission of children. None who could be at all breast-fed were
accepted, and it was a condition of admission that the infant should
be brought once a fortnight for inspection and weighing to the depôt
at Lloyds Row, where a species of consultation was held, each
Wednesday, by one of the Council's women inspectors (Miss Jones)
and the Medical Officer of Health.