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Insurance Act. Indeed, to believe papers and reports, one would
almost be driven to the conclusion that further efforts towards
such reduction are of more importance than those directed towards
our being victorious in the war.
There can be little doubt but that if an expectant mother is
prohibited from work, and thus loses her means of sustenance,
the outcome both to the parent and infant would be far worse than
if work and receipt of wages were to go on, in spite of ante-natal
clinics, of attendance at a school for mothers, or any number of
interviews with a health visitor. Besides it must be borne in
mind that, if a woman does stay at home, this by no means ensures,
her rest, and it may well be that a hard day at the wash-tub is as
likely to do harm to her and her unborn infant as a day's work at
a factory. A school for mothers may perhaps reach an occasional
case where trouble at the time of birth may be obviated, but the
cases that would attend such an institution are those who, if no such
institution were available, would seek other means of advice,
either from doctor or midwife, and those who are likely to neglect
such precautions are precisely those who would not take the trouble
to attend such a school. But for those who do attend there is
certainly the advantage of bringing many women into contact
with those who cannot fail to influence them for good in many
ways other than motherhood. Prohibition of work after birth
seems to be the one most likely to effect some service, chiefly on
account of the infant, who will then have a better chance of being
fed from the breast, and for the mother a greater likelihood of
escaping the ills which might result from the getting up too soon
after confinement. The impression seems, however, to be rather
fostered that parturition is altogether an abnormal function, and
something apart instead of being just as natural as a woman
breathing.
In all the discussions about parents and infants the interest
seems to be centred round the mother, but little or no attention is
given to the father. Surely, if good health and well-being are the
objects to be attained, this is wrong. In the breeding of valuable
animals, is not as much attention paid to the male as to the female ?
And now with the drain that is going on among those who represent
the majority of the best physically, mentally and morally, this
subject surely deserves more attention.
The deaths in the population as a whole next call for some
reflection, and the first thing to strike the attention is the considerable
rise both in scarlet fever and diphtheria. From the former
disease it will be seen that there were roughly 400 more notifications,
and its continuous prevalence during 1914 is apparent when one takes
the notifications month by month. For instance, at the end of
August, 1913, there had been only 463 notifications for the year,
while at the same date in 1914 the number was 919.
The increase in notifications affected all districts except St.
George's and North Peckham, where a decrease was noticed.