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(d) The advisability of legislation necessitating the
notification of still-births, thus preventing even the possibility
of "unwelcome infants" being got rid of.
(e) The need for including patent and proprietary foods
under the "Adulteration sections" of the Food and Drugs
Act. The exemption of those articles, gives the dishonest
exploiter the opportunity—often availed of—of supplying an
enormous amount of unsuitable or actually dangerous infant
tood.
THE WORK OF THE OFFICIAL AND VOLUNTARY
HEALTH WORKERS.
From April to December in last year 662 visits were paid to 227
separate homes after the notification of a birth, 99 were visited by the
Voluntary Health Workers and 128 by the official (Miss Aldridge.)
In visiting these cases, the visitors were well received, and many
of the mothers were found to be greatly in need of advice, which was
in many cases eagerly put into practice; but the mothers often do
not realise the amount of care their children require.
Miss Aldridge reports that the visits paid at the age of 6 weeks
and under showed the following conditions:—
87 per cent. of the infants were entirely breast-fed.
4.2 „ „ „ partly „
8.8 ,, ,, ,, entirely hand fed.
In 4.6 per cent. of the cases the mother's were going out to work,
which circumstance accounts for a good many of the hand-fed and
partly hand-fed infants. In each case this was one of urgent necessity,
the fathers being out of work or earning very little at the time.
In 5.1 per cent. of the cases the mother's were taking in work to
do at home.
Fresh Cow's Milk and Condensed Milk (of a full cream brand),
were used about equally for the feeding of hand-fed and partly hand-
B