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51
In former Annual Reports, the effect on the child of married
female labour was discussed, and the investigations recently made
point to the same conclusions as was arrived at on previous
occasions. The figures given on a preceding page also point to
the same conclusion.
The mortality from Prematurity and Congenital Defects is
lower in Acton than the average in the large towns. These two
diseases, together with Atrophy, Debility, and Marasmus, are
those mostly affected bv ante-natal conditions, and from these
diseases the mortality in Acton is below the average.
But if the ante-natal effect of married female labour is not
obvious, the conditions under which the child is brought up as
a result do affect the infantile mortality. In only 2 of the large
towns did want of Breast Milk cause a higher mortality, and
deaths from Bronchitis and Pneumonia were 14 per cent, above
the average, and from Diarrhceal Diseases the mortality was
30 per cent, above thi* average for the 241 urban areas.
The employment of the women in extra domestic duties tends
to produce premature weaning, and it is one of the causes of our
heavy mortality from Diarrhceal Diseases. Human milk is not
only the best food, but no other milk can be made into a perfect
food for infants. It is true that other milks can be modified so
as to resemble in chemical composition human milk, but milk
is not an inert liquid, depending for its nutritious qualities on the
chemical substances it contains; it is a living liquid with important
biological qualities. Premature weaning is a pathological
process, and always a regrettable event. Fortunately, the human
organism is eminently capable of adapting itself to circumstances,
and, in spite of these facts, in a majority of instances, healthy
children can be brought up on the bottle, and on a succeeding
page figures will be given showing to what extent our efforts have
been successful in counteracting the baneful effects of married
female labour. We are not now discussing the various causes
of Diarrhoeal Diseases, nor with the factors which underlie the
employment of female married labour, but merely with the association
of this employment with Diarrhceal Diseases, and we are