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Infant Welfare.
23
There were 6 deaths from diarrhoea during the summer, 5
more than the year before. The babies do not seem to have much
resistance against disease, as they seem to be rather a nervous lot
of babies, owing, perhaps, to the nervous tension of the mothers
before baby was born. All the babies who died from diarrhoea
were bottle fed. The Health Visitor had visited 19, and inquired
into feeding of the babies who died ; 15 were bottle fed and only 4
breast fed, which means that mothers putting the baby on the bottle
to go out to work will increase the death-rate among infants.
Ten of the deaths were illegitimate children, 3 in one of the
homes for illegitimate children, and two were found dead on the
Common or in gardens.
During the year 1916 85 new babies came to the Child
Welfare Centre, which brought the number on the register to 179
and during the year the Centre was open on 44 Thursdays, and the
attendance of mothers and babies were: Babies, 390 ; mothers,
476 ; children over one year, 241. Of the 85 new babies, 27 were
from Barnes and 58 from Mortlake.
The feeding of the new babies attending the Centre: Breast
fed, 51 ; bottle, 32 ; breast and bottle, 2.
Forty children over one year were brought by the mothers to
see the doctor, and 117 attendances were made, some of them
being seen by the doctor at regular intervals during the year.
Older children are weighed now as well as the babies.
A banana crate, charts, clothing, and health literature are
on view each Thursday, and books have been sold to the mothers
on the care of children. Patterns of children's clothing are given
to the mothers when required. Dried milk, milk foods and Virol are
all sold to the mothers at cost price, or less than cost price in some
cases. Four trusses and belts have been provided for the babies,
and a belt for a mother, the money being repaid weekly by the
mothers.
One baby has had plaster of Paris bandages applied to
deformed feet to straighten them, the baby having been sent first
to hospital, but they were too busy to apply them at hospital. The
attendance at the Centre has steadily improved throughout the