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15
Infant Mortality.—The deaths under 1 year of age in the
Borough during 1913 numbered 549. This is an increase of 123
upon the number of infant deaths during 1912. The infant mortality
rate for the year is 99 per 1,000 births. The increased rate is due
to an increased number of deaths from diarrhoea and enteritis
associated with an increased summer temperature, and to an
increase in the number of deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia.
Other causes of infants' deaths which deserve mentioning are
82 premature births, 67 attributed to atrophy, debility, and
marasmus.
Mrs. Rhodes began her work as Health Visitor
on February 3rd, amongst nursing mothers and their children.
She made during the year 1,178 primary visits and 821
secondary visits. There were also 216 fruitless visits made,
the mothers either being out at the time or having changed their
address. The weekly meeting of nursing mothers at the Town
Hall has been continued with slight interruption. The actual
number of meetings were 41, and the total number of infants
weighed were 964.
The following table gives particulars of the feeding of the
infants and the home conditions found by the Health Visitor
amongst the 1,178 children visited.