London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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giving the infant two or three feeds of cow's milk,, or when it was assumed that the "twomilks"
could not agree, boiled bread, etc. Not infrequently, a talk with the mother resulted in
her "trying" one or other of the homely and common-sense remedies suggested with the object
of improving the quality of the breast-milk—greatly to her own, and the infant's, advantage.
Seventy-one strong, healthy-looking mothers declared that they were "unable" to suckle their
babies, or that the milk had left them soon after "getting up." I have reason to believe that the
weaning of many of the babies was due rather to choice than necessity.
Twenty-eight mothers told me they did not "intend" to suckle their infants, or that their husbands
had objected to their doing so.
I came across 57 families in need of food. In these cases the lying-in mother appeared to be
the principal sufferer. In this connection I desire to acknowledge the help and prompt attention to
every request of mine, and the sympathy and courtesy invariably received from the Charity
Organisation Society.
Of the homes, 363 were single rooms (40 of them "furnished"); 1,140 two-roomed tenements,
577 comprised three or more rooms; 64 homes were found dirty. In 66 cases the mothers
were said to have " no home "—women visited at the workhouse maternity ward.
Appended is a statement of the visits paid during the year.
| Ward. | North Kensington. | South Kensington. | Summary— whole Borough. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles. | Golborne. | Norland. | Pembridge. | Total Visits. | Holland | Earl's Court. | Queen's Gate | Redcliffe. | Brompton. | Total Visits. | ||
| Visits | 410 | 704 | 426 | 174 | 1,714 | 106 | 73 | 106 | 100 | 47 | 432 | 2,146 |
| Re-visits | 190 | 249 | 198 | 34 | 671 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 54 | 725 |
| No information obtainable. | 22 | 34 | 20 | 12 | 88 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 116 |
| Total Visits | 2,987 | |||||||||||
| Wards. | Deaths. | Cases Investigated. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Kensington (846). | St. Charles | 73 | 47 | North Kensington (201). |
| Golborne | 189 | 83 | ||
| Norland | 92 | 54 | ||
| Pembridge | 42 | 17 | ||
| Sout.h Kensington (87). | Holland | 24 | 10 | South Kensington (26). |
| Earl's Court | 25 | 11 | ||
| Queen's Gate | 7 | |||
| Bedcliffe | 22 | 3 | ||
| Brompton | 9 | 1 |
One hundred out of the 227 mothers visited admitted going out to work, leaving their infants
in the charge of others; sixty-five of these were married women employed as laundresses, charwomen,
flower-sellers, hawkers, etc.; and thirty-five unmarried, including domestic servants (22),
laundresses, charwomen, etc. Eighty-two of the mothers had worked up to within two weeks of
confinement; thirty-six of them to the day, or the day preceding confinement.
Method of Feeding (227 cases).—Suckled 67, suckled and hand-fed 33, hand-fed only 63. No
information 64.
In 50 instances, one or other of the parents was in bad health ; in 13 cases the mothers, in 7 the
fathers, and in two both parents were suffering from phthisis; 19 mothers and 3 fathers were
weakly; in other six cases the mother suffered from some illness; whilst 4 mothers and 2 fathers
were stated to be inebriates.