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Method of Work.
In carrying out the work of health visiting among infants, I make it a practice
not to call until 10 days after the birth. I do not find it either necessary or tactful
to call before that time. For the first ten days, at least, the mother is a patient
in the care of a doctor or a midwife ; it therefore seems superfluous to visit at this
time ; moreover my visit might be resented by both doctors and midwives. It is
after the 10th clay, when the mother lias, as a rule, to rely upon herself, that an inexperienced
or anxious mother welcomes the help and advice of a health visitor.
But it is not often, however, that 1 am able to visit until the infant is two or three
weeks old ; and I could not visit every one unless little or no revisiting were done.
A record of each visit is kept on the card index system, with a brief account
of the family history, and of the condition of the infant, both at the first and subsequent
visits. At the time of the first visit I decide whether it is advisable to revisit.
Revisiting.
It does not always seem necessary to revisit, but in the majority of cases it is
desirable that further visits should be paid, at more or less frequent intervals, according
to individual needs. In some cases, I have revisited weekly for several consecutive
weeks, and have afterwards gradually increased the intervals between the visits
as the infant's health improved.
It may seem that such frequent revisiting should not be done when there are so
many who are not visited at all ; but I consider that experience justifies me in spending
a good deal of my time in dealing with a comparatively small number of cases
thoroughly, rather than perfunctorily getting through a larger number less thoroughly.
I do not hesitate to say that unless I could follow my first visit by others, the first
would be an absolute waste of time, in most cases.
Results of Work.
I am pleased to be able to report that far from my visits being resented, I have
always been treated with the greatest courtesy, and my advice has often been sought
on other subjects, such as the health of elder children, and their prospects as wageearners
after leaving school.
In some cases in which the parents are intemperate and degraded, it seems a
waste of time to revisit, but there are others in which I have had the satisfaction
of seeing some definite results of my work. These have been cases in which the
mother has been willing to do her best for the child, but did not know the right
methods to adopt.
The following is a typical illustration of a case of this kind:—