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150
It was decided during the year not to supply any milk to persons
residing out of the Borough, although enhanced prices had been
originally fixed for such cases, which gave a profit to the ratepayers
on the working expenses of the Depot. This led to the exclusion of
several children in Charlton who were taking the milk. One mother,
who was refused the milk because she lived just outside the
Borough boundary, took lodgings for her baby and nurse inside the
Borough, and was supplied with the milk at a heavy additional cost
to herself, and a loss to the ratepayers.
Age of Infants Fed.—The average age of the children taken on at
the Depot was three months. The average duration of feeding was
five months, thus the average age of those fed was five and a half
months.
Health of Infants coming on Depot. Of the 245 infants who
commenced Depot milk in 1908, 130, or more than half, were unwell
at the time of commencing—30 suffered from indigestion, 48 were
wasting or delicate, 15 had diarrhoea, 12 were premature infants or
twins, 2 had tuberculosis, and 23, other diseases. The large proportion
of delicate infants should be particularly noticed, and
indicates that the Depot is as much used for curative as for preventive
purposes. Only the more enlightened parents seek the Depot milkas
long as their infant appears to flourish. Many only come to the
Depot when the baby's health fails.
Deaths of Depot-Fed Infants. The health of Depot infants, as
judged by the number of deaths, was even more satisfactory last year
than in 1907. Only six children died while on the Depot; one of
these had only been on one day, one 9 days, and ono 10 days. One
died from whooping cough, two from diarrhoea, two from bronchitis,
and one from convulsions.
Nine additional infants died after having left the Depot for an
interval varying from three days to three months.
As ordinarily estimated the death-rate per 1,000 infants fed would
be only 38, but I have elsewhere given reasons for considering all
such death-rates totally incomparable with normal infantile deathrates.
There can be no doubt, however, that many more children
would have died but for the Depot milk.