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III.—Referring Mothers to :—
(a) Doc'ors, Dispensaries, Hospitals, etc.—
One of the most useful parts of the work in connection with the infant
visiting was the early detection of the mothers (or infants) who
appeared to be in more or less urgent need of medical attention; and
the St. Pancras Borough Council cards, which we gave as a sort of
introduction of the mother from you (as Medical Officer of Health)
to the particular Doctor, Dispensary, or Hospital that she usually
attended, and asking for especial attention to be paid to her iu regard
to the suckling of her infants have, in many instances, been productive
of much good.
The leaflets which were printed towards the end of the year, with details
as to the hours, terms, &c , of the different Hospitals, Provident
Dispensaries, Medical Missions, &c., gave useful information to the
mothers needing medical treatment for themselves and their infants.
(b) Religious and Charitable Agencies—
In cases where we found that the mother, from an insufficiency of food
and milk for herself, would be unable to continue "nursing" her
baby, or babies (in the case of twins), we referred her for help and
extra nourishment to the Churih or Chapel that she attended : or to
the Charity Organization Society who, in nearly every instance, after
investigating the case, found it a suitable one, and likely to benefit by
temporary help, and so gave milk and eggs, etc., to the mother, to
tide her over the most critical period. This food was especially
useful, as a complement to the medicines prescribed by the Doctors,
as otherwise tonics, such as quinine, would have been practically
useless, as the appetite engendered by them could not have been
satisfied.
IV.—The Conference on Infantile Mortality, convened by the Health Committee,
with the approval of the Council, was held at the Town Hall, Pancras Road,
on June 5th, 1905.
The Conference consisted of Members of Parliament representing the
Borough, Members of the County Council representing St. Pancras,
Members of the Borough Council, Leaders of the Medical Profession,
Medical Specialists in the treatment of women and children, &c.
For the Resolutions adopted, see Minutes of the Borough Council of
July 12th, 1905.
V-—Special Inquiry into Deaths of Infants (under 12 months of age) from
Zymotic Diarrhoea.
During the 3rd quarter, July, August, and September, I systematically
visited every house where a death of a baby from diarrhoea had
occurred, thinking the information as to the feeding, and conditions
and environment, of the babies who had died of this disease, taken in
conjunction with the previously gained information as to the feeding
and environment of healthy babies, might be of some future value,
with regard to the aetiology of zymotic epidemic, or summer diarrhoea.