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72
Dr. Harris always felt keenly the terrible loss of infant life which he considered
so unnecessary. He mentions in 1906 that it was nearly 30 years then since he, as a
young practitioner, first drew attention to the waste of infant life, but although the
subject was afterwards commented on by "The Lancet" and other medical papers,
nothing was done. He set out the causes of death of 1,083 infants who died in 1906
and said,
"Its careful study will show that many of the deaths there recorded are
entirely preventable and would not have occurred if only the mothers knew and
understood the duties of maternity and method of rearing children."
Dr. Harris was now, apparently, becoming almost desperately anxious that some
action should be taken to deal with infant mortality. He made a special report on
"The Prevention of Infant Mortality " which was placed before the Public Health
Committee and printed by order of the Committee. He dealt with the subject very
fully, analysing the causes of deaths, the ages and the results of enquiries about
infants who died from diarrhoea as to the health of the mothers, the methods of
feeding, the hygienic state of feeding utensils, the character of the dwellings, etc.
He dealt also with accident or neglect in the case of young children, and with the
effects of the principal infectious diseases, and rickets, thrush, etc.
He mentioned the importance of maternal nutrition and also the effects of
poverty, exercise, employment and housing. He then went on to say, "How are we
to deal with the question ? " and pointed out that a number of Authorities had
appointed Health Visitors to instruct the mother with regard to the nursing and
care of her child. He went into a prolonged discussion of whether there should be
official and paid Health Visitors or whether there should be unpaid voluntary
Visitors, and came down emphatically in favour of the paid Health Visitors. He then
made the following recommendations :—
1. The adoption of the Notification of Births Act, 1907.
2. The appointment of three Health Visitors and one Clerk.
3. The encouragement of Voluntary Associations to assist the Health Visitors.
How strongly he felt is shown by the following concluding sentence from his
report :—
"My duty is now done. My responsibility has ceased; I had felt it for a
long while. The attempt to save these lives now remains in your hands. The
law of the land allows you to spend money for this purpose, and the unwritten
law must surely prompt you to do so."
However, the Council refused to accept Dr. Harris' recommendations, and very
sadly he wrote the following :—
"The Borough Council in their wisdom have, however, declined to adopt
their Medical Officer of Health's recommendation with respect to the prevention
of the excessive infantile mortality in the borough so far as the appointment of
trained, qualified, and paid lady health visitors is concerned, and therefore, the
undue mortality among infants must continue unchecked. It is a sad thought, and
one to cause serious reflection, that a body of business men could arrive at the
conclusion, with the report of the Medical Officer of Health on the Prevention
of Infantile Mortality before them, that there was no need for paid health
visitors. It has been said by one or at most two members of the Council that if
that report had put before them facts and figures, and had not been an appeal
to their sentiment, they would have considered them as business men. But
surely this statement is incorrect and, therefore, misleading, for the Report
literally teems with facts and figures respecting the deaths of infants, and traces
back nearly all their ailments to their original and most probable causes."