View report page

83
in the fact that houses originally built for accommodating single families are now
let out to two or three families, and therefore rooms intended to be used as bedrooms
or parlours have now to serve for the entire accommodation of a whole family.
Food Storage.
In one or two-roomed homes where the only storage for food is a cupboard in
the recess by the side of the fire, it is extremely difficult and sometimes almost
impossible to keep milk in a fit state for an infant's food, especially in the summer.
In this connection I may point out that there was proper pantry accommodation
in only two of the thirty-seven homes where the above-mentioned deaths from
Summer Diarrhoea had occurred.
This want of proper pantries also tends to encourage the wasteful habit of buying
food in small quantities, as it is required. Even when means permit it is impossible
to economise by buying in larger quantities if there is no fit and proper place in which
to store the food.
Water Supply.
In some of the larger houses now let out to more than one family, taps for
water have been placed on the upper storey. This is a step in the right direction
and the extension of this improvement should help to raise the standard of cleanliness
in the home. It is not surprising that women who have to go up and down
several stairs to fetch clean and dispose of dirty water should feel tempted to reduce
the amount of cooking, cleaning and washing to a minimum.
1 V.— Lectures.
These were given to members of women's meetings held in conjunction with
various churches, chapels, clubs, &c., in the Borough. I attended in response to
invitations from the workers in chaige, without regard to differing religious denominations.
I have welcomed the opportunity of speaking at these meetings. In doing so
it is easy to teach many things which cannot always be brought into a conversation
with a mother in her home I have dealt especially with the necessity of employing
hygienic methods during the ante-natal period, with the need for providing for the
expenses attendent on a tirth ; on the value of providing suitable clothing for the
infant, and on methods of feeding. Taking a prominent part in such meetings also
brings me into touch with many women in the Borough and enables me to make
their acquaintance before calling at their house.
V—Puerperal Septicaemia.
The cases into which I have enquired were all attended by midwives ; a record
of each enquiry is kept, giving the circumstances of each case. One patient died,
one appears to have been very ill; the other four recovered after a slight illness.
No enquiry has been made in cases occurring in the practice of a medical man.
F 2