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In the work of reducing the infantile mortality rate, the Council have received
the greatest amount of assistance from this organization, and to it is certainly due
some of the credit of having brought about the steady fall to which reference has
already been made.
The type of work done by the Society is more or less indicated by the titles
of the institutions which have been founded: Schools for Mothers, Infant Consultations,
Provident Clubs for Expectant Mothers, and so on; and descriptions of each
of these have been given already.
All of these continued to grow during 1913. More and more of the women in
the Borough are learning of their existence, and are taking advantage of them. This
is indicated more or less by the following figures.
In North Marylebone the number of attendances at the consultations held at the
Portinan Club, Church Street, under Drs. Christine Murrell and Emily Mecredy,
was 1,932. The total number of babies seen was 407.
The Mothers' Club, at which lectures and demonstrations are given, was
attended by 150 women.
In South Marylebone 287 babies were seen at the consultations conducted by
Dr. Eric Pritchard at the Marylebone General Dispensary, YVelbeck Street. In all
there were 1,223 attendances.
The Mothers' Club was attended by 46 mothers.
The total numbers of visits to homes by the voluntary workers was 2,162—
1,080 in the North District, and 1,082 in the South District.
Work of the Women Inspectors:—The visits paid by the Women Inspectors
numbered 3,776. The information obtained by them in the course of their inquiries
into births notified under the Notification of Births Act is tabulated at page 21.
(Table V).
The matters inquired into are set out at the head of the columns, and attention
may again be directed to the fact that a very considerable proportion of the infants
are breast-fed, even after the earlier weeks or months of life. The very common
experience is that breast-feeding is discontinued after the second month, resort being
had to mixed breast and bottle or artificial feeding entirely at this time.
Infant deaths:— Visits were also paid by the Women Inspectors to a number of
the addresses at which deaths of infants had occurred.
Enquiries in these cases were made with regard to the cause of death, the
method of feeding adopted, and a note made as to the sanitary surroundings.
The information obtained is summarized in Tables VI and VII. The total
number of deaths investigated was 130.