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62
Premature weaning has in many cases been prevented by
the advice given to the mother as to her own health and diet.
This advice has been instrumental in preventing her to give up
suckling the baby without sufficient cause. Occasionally the flow
of milk would slightly diminish, but timely advice would reestablish
the function, and where breast feeding was insufficient,
she was enabled to keep up partial suckling and simply supplement
this with artificial feeding.
In spite of all endeavours, a large number of children are
brought up by hand, and the usefulness of the consultation is
then made still more evident. The mother is able to ask and
receive advice as to the best food and the proper quantity. She
is not left to the mercy of a neighbour who is more ignorant
than she is, but whose volubility enhances the dangers of her
ignorance. The mother also has visible evidence of the progress
or otherwise of the baby; a gradual increase in weight is, after all,
one of the best manifestations of a healthy progress.
To stimulate interest, a baby show was held on July 7th,
in the Central Hall of the Priory School. The function was really
more in the nature of a reception than of a baby show. The
Chairman of the Health Committee invited all the mothers to a
tea, and if the mothers desired the babies could be entered for
competition. 75 mothers accepted the invitation to tea and 62
babies attended the baby show. The 75 mothers brought their
babies with them, but for various reasons, some of them did not
wish to enter their babies for competition. The chief reason was
that some of the babies were delicate. Although the prizes were
not awarded for robustness and development alone, the mothers
felt that delicate children would be handicapped. In every
instance, where care and attention had been paid in the rearing,
though the babies were not entered for the baby show, certificates
were awarded to the mothers.
The babies were divided into 4 classes—under 3 months, 3-6
months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months. In the youngest class
there were 13 babies, in the second 15, in the third 17 and in
the oldest class 17.