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42
Method of Feeding.—Of the total number of cases, only
35 per cent were breast fed. Of the 18 deaths from suffocation
in bed, 12 were breast-fed; this rather lends support to the view
that in many of these cases, death results from the fact that the
mother goes to sleep while the teat is still in the baby's mouth.
Death ensues either because the breast presses over the baby's
nose and mouth, or the mother rolls over upon the child. The
same conclusion is upheld by the figures in the third table.
The deaths from diarrhoea amongst the wholly and partially
breast-fed are three-fourths of the number who died, having been
artificially fed.
Mothers' Health.—Of the mothers, 172 were reputed healthy—
that is 64 per cent.; 77, or 29 per cent., enjoyed indifferent health,
whereas 16, or 7 per cent., had bad health.
That so many mothers were healthy is matter for congratulation—this
means that at any rate the child probably in these cases
gets a fair start in life.
The largest number of unhealthy mothers was found among
those whose children had been born prematurely, or whose children
suffered from atrophy and developmental disease.
Mothers' Work.—Fifty-nine percent. only did their own
housework—14 percent, worked away from home. In Finsbury
it is rather the exception for mothers to work shortly after the
birth of the child, though some doubtless do so, driven to it by
necessitous circumstances.
Home Conditions.—Nearly 12 percent, of the homes were
dirty, 54 per cent, were clean, the rest, 34 percent., a little over
one-third of the houses, were only passably clean.
The high percentage of dirty rooms is generally found in connection
with the deaths due to diarrhoea, marasmus and pneumonia,
causes which bespeak the carelessness of one or both
parents.