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34
One of the chief objects of the health visitors is to encourage breastfeeding,
but in the poorer parts of Hampstead we have found instances
where the mother, although anxious to continue nursing her baby, is
unable to do so, owing to the fact that through poverty, she herself is
insufficiently nourished. In order to meet cases of this kind the West
Hampstead Infants' Committee of the Hampstead Health Society
decided, with the sanction of the Society, to raise a fund to supply
nursing mothers with milk and other food. This assistance is only
given on certain conditions, one being that the baby should bo brought
regularly to be weighed. The sum of money raised for this purpose
during 1909 was comparatively small, but it was sufficient to enable the
health visitors to add considerably to the value of their work. It is to
be hoped that this side of our preventive work will be more developed
during the present year.
676 newly born infants were visited by the lady inspectors during
1909, and 643 re-visits were paid, 193 of which were in respect of
infants born in 1908.
Of the 676 infants visited, 218 were visited within the first fortnight
after birth, 188 in the second fortnight, 258 in the second month,
12 being visited later than the second month. Of the 664 babies visited
within the first two months after birth, 539 were found to be entirely
breast-fed, 64 to be partially breast-fed, and 61 entirely hand-fed; 83
of the babies visited lived in tenements of one room, 346 in tenements
of two rooms, 231 in tenements of three rooms, 8 in tenements of more
than three rooms, while in 8 cases the number of rooms was not
ascertained.