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In spite of all teaching to the contrary, artificial
feeding is steadily replacing breast feeding at an
alarming rate. The Maternity and Child Welfare staff
are constantly urging the desirability of breast feeding,
and the Health Visitor sees to it that the mother receives
suitable advice as to correct supplementary artificial
feeding should the breast fail.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum—inflammation of the eyes
of the new-born—is a disease which does a great deal
of harm to the eyes of new-born infants, who may
contract it unless most careful precautions are taken at
the time of the confinement. When a case of this kind
is notified, the Health Visitor calls immediately. Cases
of Puerperal Pyrexia and Fever are also notifiable by
law, and here again the Health Visitor visits to offer any
advice which may be needed by the family. When a
midwife is in charge of a case, any eye discharge occurring
in the infant must be notified by her to her local
supervising authority, which in London is the London
County Council. Such notifications arc forwarded to the
Medical Officer of Health, and are handed over to the
Health Visitors for home visitation.
Measles is a notifiable disease in this Borough, and
of late years it has taken an alarming toll of the infant
population coining, as it does, as an epidemic every two
years. In 1932 we had a severe epidemic.
When a child under five years of age is notified as
suffering from measles, a Health Visitor calls and advises
the mother. During the epidemic of 1932 a special
Measles Nurse was appointed to cope with the large
numbers, but as has already been mentioned, a great deal
of visiting of such cases devolved upon the Health
Visitors.
Notification of Births.
In the year 1932, 2093 births of living children and
17 births of stillborn children were notified. Of these,
208 or 9.7 per cent. were notified by doctors, 1930 or 90.2