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23
It is after the breast milk disappears that the real trouble commences,
and in some families baby after baby suffers from rickets and
wasting diseases. In the poorest of homes the milk is frequently given
too greatly diluted.
The lying-in period is frequently too short in the case of women
with large families, and results disastrous to the health of the mother
may be a consequence. Many defects and nuisances in the houses
which otherwise might be overlooked, are discovered by these visits,
which defects are reported and steps taken to remedy them. Pantry
accommodation is very inadequate in many houses and the food is very
frequently uncovered.
Much good is done by health visiting, and much ignorance and
superstition are dispelled. The immediate results may be frequently
disappointing, but we are encouraged with the hope that the interest
we take in the mothers' welfare may lead to the children becoming
the healthy men and women of the future.

The following visits are included in the above table:—
Births 4707
Tuberculosis 2004
Verminous Children 1314
Suspected Poliomyelitis 3
Ophthalmia Neonatorum 39
Infant Deaths (Diarrhoea, &c.) 88
Miscellaneous 117
8272