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16
THE WORK OF THE OFFICIAL AND VOLUNTARY
HEALTH WORKERS.
During the year 1,005 visits were paid to 478 separate homes
after the notification of a birth.. 88 were visited by the Voluntary
Health Workers, and 390 by the official (Miss Aldridge).
Miss Aldridge reports that: "In making these visits we have not
only been well received, but have found the mothers expecting and
generally looking forward to seeing us; not always on the baby's
account, but sometimes to ask us many questions concerning family
affairs in general.
" When visiting some of the infants I have found them ill;
sometimes very seriously so, although the mothers were often ignorant
of the fact. These children have on advice been taken to a doctor or
hospital, with very beneficial results. To quote one case, I found a
baby of 3 months old almost dying with Bronchitis; the mother did
not know the child's condition was critical—the weather was cold,
but the child was in the bedroom without a fire and with a scanty
supply of bedclothes; in fact, the home was almost destitute of what
was necessary to give the child even a chance of recovery. I advised
the mother to take the child, wrapped in a blanket, to the nearest
Children's Hospital, where it was kept for some weeks. The child
is now at home and doing well; but I have since heard that the
hospital authorities are very proud of having pulled the child through,
and that had it arrived there a few hours later they could have done
nothing for it. Four of the infants visited were illegitimate, and in
two cases the mothers were advised to apply to the Foundling
Hospital for the admission of their children. It is satisfactory to be
able to record that both these children have now been received into
the hospital."
"At the age of 6 weeks and under the following methods of
feeding were found:—
87.7 infants were entirely breast-fed.
5.6 „ „ partly ,,
6.7 „ „ entirely hand-fed.