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3. The father was out of work. There was no fire in the
grate. The mother had wrapped the baby, which was otherwise
naked, in its father's coat, and was nursing it to keep it warm.
4. A baby two weeks old was cold, crying, exposed with its
chest uncovered. It had on two tight cotton binders and nothing
else. It was wasting, and had cough and diarrhoea. The mother
was clean, tidy, and presumably intelligent. Her home was very
clean and orderly. Her clothes were clean and well kept. She
had left off the baby's clothes so that "it might breathe and cough
easier."
The two binders had apparently been placed on very tightly for
the same reason.
5. A baby was blue and very cold from the pressure of
excessive clothing. It had on four flannelette petticoats, one
flannelette shirt, a cotton frock, and a pinafore. It had then
been wrapped in a woollen shawl folded double in three turns,
and over all these was placed a blanket folded four times.
Feeding.—At the first visits, 172 babies or 86 per cent, were
breast-fed exclusively, 6 were partly breast-fed and bottle-fed, 20
were wholly bottle-fed, 2 were fed on patent foods and boiled
bread.
The large number of children breast-fed is much to be commended.
Most Finsbury mothers breast-feed their children for
the first month of life and only give this up not because it is their
desire but because necessity compels them. This has been discussed
in previous reports.
One mother stated "she could never breast feed her children as
the milk got into her own head."
Some mothers feed their children whenever the babies cry;
others try everything and anything the neighbours suggest.
On such a recommendation one mother tried 8 different patent
foods in one month.