[Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health and Port Medical Officer of Health, Great Yarmouth Borough.

  • Great Yarmouth (England). Borough Council. nb2008007343.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health and Port Medical Officer of Health, Great Yarmouth Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/48 (page 11)
    n stress on the only natural food for infants, the conse- quence bein that the lessons are largely occupied in attempting to teach children the best methods of prepar- ing and administering what is after all only a makeshift for the natural food. The solution of the difficulty may be found in utilising the services of volunteer helpers who are acquainted with the localities in which they are working ; this should be practicable under the present local condi- tions, and appears more useful than the distribution of circulars or the wholesale provision of sterilised milk. The number of deaths under one month is very important from a preventive point of view, as the exist- ing Acts concerning the Registration of Births permit a delay of six weeks before registration becomes compul- sory. As a natural result it not infrequently happens that a child is dead before its birth is registered, with the further result that it is impossible to bring any public influence to bear on the parents or guardians if reliance is placed on the Registrars’ returns alone. The principal causes of the total infantile mortality stated in percentages are :— From Wasting Diseases . . 43.8 ,, Diarrhoeal Diseases . . 18.9 ,, Tuberculous Diseases . . 7.6 ,, Respiratory Diseases . . 14. i ,, Convulsions . . . . 4.3 ,, Overlaid . . . . 2.2 ,, Syphilis . . . . 1.6 ,, Meningitis . . . . r.6 ,, Common Infectious . . 1.6 ,, Unclassified . . . . 4.3 The death rate among illegitimate children was, as usual, more than twice that among legitimate children, the rates per thousand births being 263 and 119 respectively.