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59
The excuses given to the Health Visitor by the mother, week after week, points
to the possession of ingenuity, which, if exercised on behalf of the babies,
should be a great asset in baby rearing. We must remember that many of the
poorer mothers when they go to the Babies' Welcome, have to encounter a
certain amount of opposition from relatives and neighbours. A large number
of the women who attend, are of the more respectable class, and form the more
reliable members of the Welcomes. There are, however, some centres of which
the members consist almost entirely of wives of casual labourers. In such
centres, the attendance is generally more irregular; the mothers begin well, but
need careful re-visiting to encourage them to continue the good beginning. It is
felt that this re-visiting is well worth while, since the opportunities for helping
in such cases are unlimited.
One baby, when first visited, was 8 weeks old. It was undersized and pallid,
but was quite clean. The mother said it was fed on the breast only. On enquiry,
it was found that this was the mother's sixth child, all of the others died before
reaching the age of 12 months, and all had been fed artificially.
The mother was advised to take the child to a Welcome, whereupon she began
to make excuses. It was pointed out to her that her record was a bad one, and that
if she really meant to do her best for the baby, as she said, she could prove her good
intentions in no better way than by attending the Welcome regularly. The mother
accepted the challenge, and took the baby to the Welcome, rather unwillingly on
the first occasion, but has since attended fairly well.
Recently the father fell out of work, and his wife was forced to resume work at
home. On some occasions when she was too busy to leave her work, a neighbour
was sent with the baby to the Welcome.
The figures showing the total number of babies that have attended Infant
Consultations, prove that the mothers appreciate the benefits to be obtained by
attending these Welcomes.
The following figures show the percentages of mothers working industrially
during pregnancy both in the factory and at home, out of a total of 1,328, about
whom particulars were obtained.
Of the 1,328 mothers who worked during pregnancy either in the factory or
at home:—
19 per cent. worked in factories.
69 per cent. did house work only
12 per cent. did other work.
"Other work" includes all kinds of home work, office cleaning, washing and
cleaning, away from home. Such work does not necessitate the baby being bottle
fed, and on that account is preferable to factory work for mothers. On the other