View report page

11
of the mothers are obliged to go to work, and must therefore put the
children out to nurse entirely, or leave them in charge of neighbours
during working hours. The usual payment for nurse children, when
boarded out, is between 5s. and 6s. per week. For day " minding " the
average charge is 4d. per day, exclusive of food. The majority of illegitimate
infants are, therefore, brought up by hand and bottle-fed.
No supervision is exercised over women who receive only one nursechild,
as the Infant Life Protection Act only extends to cases where two
or more children are received. It would be of considerable advantage
if the London County Council would furnish the various Public Health
Departments with lists of women in their respective Boroughs who
receive nurse-children. At present there is no systematic co-operation
between the local Sanitary Authority and the Inspectors under the
Infant Life Protection Act.
From the registered occupations of the mothers of illegitimate
children, it appears that, taking the three years 1905-6-7, 67 per cent.
of the mothers, on an average, were domestic servants or charwomen.
The report of the Lady Sanitary Inspector will indicate the work
which she has performed in 1907 in the visitation of mothers of newlyborn
infants, and the giving of advice on infant rearing and management.
The lady visitors in connection with St. George's Hospital continue to
visit the Hospital's outdoor maternity cases, and give much valuable
advice and assistance to working-class mothers on the bringing-up of
their infants.
The association for providing dinners to nursing mothers (under
the direction of Mrs. W. E. Gordon) has extended its operations during
the year, and now has 3 centres, at which dinners are given at the
nominal charge of Id., viz.: Sydney-street, Denyer-street, and St. John's
Mission, World's End. During the year the total number of dinners
provided was 6697, which were partaken of by 161 nursing mothers.