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A second baby, 9 months, was fat and had indigestion : it was
also being fed "according to it's mother's directions."
The third baby, 11 months, was thin, flabby, had a cough, and
was bodily dirty, and smelt very offensively. Its head was
caked with scurf. It was said to be fed on milk and bread
and water. The feeding bottle belonging to the crèche had been
broken, and no further supply had been requisitioned.
The chldren had not been washed that morning.—" they were
supposed to be brought to the crèche clean."
At a subsequent visit, the conditions were slightly improved,
but one of the children was now ill, although a notice exhibited
on the door stated that sick children were not received.
The milk was stored in an open jug on the mantlepiece in the
room in which the children slept.
On the general question, the establishment of well-managed
and well-organised crèches in the borough would confer an
immense boon on those many mothers who now have to return
to work soon after child-birth, and would undoubtedly save many
infant lives. At the present time such mothers leave their babies
in the care of young girls, young boys, their landladies, neighbours,
day foster mothers, or "minders" near their workshops.
Illustrative Examples—
1. The baby was 4 months old, and the first child. The
mother was a bookfolder, and went out to work every morning.
The family occupied one room. The baby was locked in this
room every morning, and visited from time to time by the father
who was out looking for work, but "dropped in about every
hour or so to see how the baby was getting on." When the
parents were both in work—the baby was left with the landlady.
2. The mother was a trouser presser at work. The father
was a salesman out of work. They occupied one room. The
baby was left in charge of the landlady during the daylime.