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In connection with illegitimate births, Miss Richardson, the
Borough Council's Lady Sanitary Inspector, reports that the majority
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 4 years 1905-6-7-8, 66 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 1908 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.
This Society is now known as the St. George's Maternity and
Health Society (working under the Almoner's Office, St. George's
Hospital). It consists of voluntary Health Visitors who are all trained
" Health Workers" and experienced in social work, and who work under
the Lady Almoner of the Hospital. These ladies visit the Hospital's
out-door maternity cases prior to the confinement, and continue to visit
up to the time the child is 9 months old. They also, as considered
desirable, visit the homes of the Hospital patients.
The association for providing dinners to nursing mothers (under
the direction of Mrs. W. E. Gordon) has continued its operations during
the year, and now has 3 centres, at which dinners are given at the
nominal chnrge of Id., viz.:—Sydney-street, Church-street, and St. John's
Mission Hall, World's End. During the year the total number of dinners
provided was 9,276, which were partaken of by 220 nursing mothers.
NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS ACT, 1907.
On the 22nd January, 1908, the Borough Council resolved not to
proceed with the motion for the adoption of the Notification of Births
Act, 1907, of which notice had been given to the members of the Council
in December, 1907. The Public Health Committee reported that it was
not convinced that the Act would prove workable in practice,