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49
Of the 56 cases, there were only two suffering from serious conditions;
one was a case of Diabetes, and the other was suffering from Renal
disease. For the latter patient I secured admittance into St. Thomas'
Hospital.
Health Visitors.—There are three ladies engaged in this work,
two whole and one part time.
Within fourteen days' of birth, all children are visited unless a desire
to the contrary is expressed by the parents.
During the year, 8,797 visits were made to the homes, and of these
5,140 were paid to children under, and 2,136 to children over one year
of age.
Of the 3,141 children bom within the area 2,940, or nearly 94 per
cent., were visited. One visit was paid to 1,360 babies, two visits to
1,109, three to 347, four to 104, five to 15, and six to five others.
Non-effective visits totalled 1,523—failing to see parent, 1,260;
children dead, 108; parents and baby removed, 155.
Over 86 per cent. of the babies visited were breast-fed at first visit,
4 6 per cent. partly by breast and by hand, and 8.6 per cent. hand-fed
from the start.
A number of mothers who started by breast-feeding resorted to
artificial feeding later but the vast majority continued it.
The number of hand-fed babies was considerably less, and the
number breast-fed more than in 1919—94 per cent. in 1920, as against
83 per cent. in 1919 for breast-fed, and 8.6 per cent. as against 10 per
cent. for hand-fed.
Of the 254 hand-fed children, boat-shaped bottles were used for 231,
and only one parent used the long tubed variety.
The condition of the babies was very good in 2,815 instances and
bad in only 22.
Judged by methods of feeding and the cleanliness of the babies there
is little doubt the work of the Health Visitors and the Welfare Centres
is having an increasing influence for good on the mothers.
How seriously handicapped many of these are, may be judged by the
fact that the parents of 748 of the children lived in half-houses and 574
had but one room to live in. Two-hundred and fifteen others occupied
two rooms and 46 three rooms.
Of the total 3,141 births, only 1,157 parents occupied a whole house.
Midwives.—There are eleven women practising in the District in
addition to those at the Walthamstow Branch of the Essex Nursing
d