Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hammersmith Borough]
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72
Number of Consultations at Infant Welfare Centres,
attended by Health Visitors 413
Number of Committee Meetings of Voluntary Associations
attended 16
Number of Insanitary Conditions reported by Health
Visitors and dealt with by Sanitary Inspectors 39
The feeding of the 1,844 infants visited was found to be as
follows:—
Breast-feeding 1,618
Artificial feeding 160
Mixed feeding 66
Every effort is made by the Health Visitors to encourage
mothers to breast-feed their infanta, and also to induce them
to attend the Consultations at the Infant Welfare Centres, so
that both mother and child may be kept under observation
during the most critical months of the child's life.
The following table gives the number of births and deaths of infants and the rate per 1,000 births since 1906, the year of the appointment of the first Health Visitor:—
| Year. | Births. | Deaths of Infants. | Deaths of Infants per 1000 births. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 | 3112 | 430 | 138 |
| 1907 | 3029 | 362 | 117 |
| 1908 | 3204 | 383 | 120 |
| 1909 | 2995 | 360 | 120 |
| 1910 | 2906 | 329 | 99 |
| 1911 | 2929 | 434 | 146 |
| 1912 | 2880 | 259 | 90 |
| 1913 | 2951 | 314 | 103 |
| 1914 | 2935 | 276 | 94 |
| 1915 | 2708 | 277 | 102 |
| 1916 | 2605 | 222 | 85 |
| 1917 | 2278 | 251 | 110 |
| 1918 | 2014 | 210 | 104 |
| 1919 | 2296 | 228 | 99 |
| 1920 | 3312 | 219 | 66 |
| 1921 | 2779 | 245 | 88 |
| 1922 | 2758 | 196 | 71 |
| 1923 | 2701 | 173 | 64 |
| 1924 | 2399 | 173 | 72 |
| 1925 | 2351 | 153 | 65 |
| 1926 | 2188 | 144 | 66 |
| 1927 | 2076 | 126 | 61 |
The activities of those who have been engaged in Infant
Welfare Work continues to be carried on with enthusiasm
by both voluntary and municipal workers.