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106 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Out of 3,337 infants, 2,718 or 81.4 per cent. were wholly
breast-fed, and 619 or 18.6 per cent. otherwise fed. There is a
slight decrease in the number breast-fed compared with previous
years.
1,373 infants were re-visited, and of these 876 or 64 per cent.
were breast-fed, while 497 or 36 per cent. were otherwise fed, which
is also a slight decrease compared with previous years.
The total number of deaths among those visited was 120, 15
in Clapham, eight in Putney, 19 in Streatham, 27 in Tooting, and
51 in Wandsworth. Table LV. shows these deaths arranged in
monthly age periods. The heaviest mortality occurred at one to
two months.
It is a most significant fact that the number of deaths from
Diarrhoea and Enteritis among 2,718 infants who were breast-fed
was only six, or a percentage mortality of 22, while among 619
infants who were otherwise fed the number of deaths was 45 or a
percentage mortality of 7.2. The mortality among infants otherwise
fed was thus 32 times greater than those breast-fed.
The mortality among the infants visited by the Inspectors
was only 32 per 1,000 births, compared with 88 per 1,000, the rate
for the Borough for the year.