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5
The visitation of infants was to some extent interfered with
by the epidemic of Measles, which prevailed throughout the
borough during the first six months of the year, but 1,696 first
visits, and 4,794 subsequent visits were paid by your three Health
Visitors.
The feeding of the infants at the time of the first visit was
found to be as under :—
Breast fed 1,458
Hand and breast fed 113
Hand only 125
The work of your Health Visitors was actively supplemented
by the infant welfare work carried on by the Voluntary Associations
of the Borough.
728 babies attended the consultations held by the doctors
attached to the Hammersmith Welfare Centre and the Women's
League of Service Welfare Centre, who made in all 8,484
attendances, and some of these were visited by the nurses attached
to the staff of the Centres. Ante-natal clinics are held at
(ilenthorne Road Centre, and Sulgrave Road Centre. At the
latter a Dental Clinic is held, and dinners are provided at a small
cost for nursing and expectant mothers. The arrangements made
by the Borough Council last year for the treatment at the School
Treatment Centre, Carnforth Lodge, of children under school age
suffering from minor ailments, dental defects, and enlarged tonsils
and adenoids requiring operation, continued during 1918.
Deaths of Illegitimate Infants.—Of the 210 infants who
died before attaining the age of one year, 32, or 15 percent, were
illegitimate, the mortality among them being in the proportion of
189 deaths per 1,000 illegitimate births against 96 per 1,000
among children born in wedlock.
Deaths from Epidemic Diseases.—To the seven principal
epidemic diseases 116 deaths were ascribed, giving a death rate of
1 "0 per 1,000, against 0-99 per 1,000 in 1917.
Sickness from Notifiable Infections Diseases.—The following
table gives the number of cases of infectious diseases notified in
the borough, together with the number removed to hospital :—