Report on the public health of Finsbury 1908 including annual report on factories and workshops.

  • Finsbury (London, England). Metropolitan Borough.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Report on the public health of Finsbury 1908 including annual report on factories and workshops. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    16/155 (page 16)
    16 The information elicited by the women inspectors and sum marised in the foregoing table, is exceedingly interesting and valuable. Some mention has already been made of the method of feeding of the 838 cases visited, and the percentages of those wholly breast-fed and-partially breast-fed have been given. Of the number artificially fed (81) 61—or 7 per cent.—were on cows' milk, and 20—or 2.5 per cent.—on condensed milk or artificial foods. A point worthy of note in the table, so far as feeding is concerned, is that the number of breast-fed children seems to be fairly high at all the age periods given. Of the total (838) about one-fourth (231) were visited before they were one week old. Of this number, 192 (83 per cent.) were found to be suckled by the mother, and 15 (6 per cent.) were receiving cows' milk or artificial foods. A percentage such as this, or even higher, was expected at this early date, the fear being that the number of mothers able to breast-feed would diminish after the first fortnight. It is satis factory to note, however, that this is not borne out by the figures, and out of 143 babies aged from two to three months, the number breast-fed (102) gave a percentage of 71. The percentage on the total (838) was 82. Condition of Child.—Enquiries made under this heading revealed the fact that 62 per cent. were well nourished, 26 only fairly, and the remainder badly. About 12 per cent. seems to be the average for badly nourished babies at each age group. Which means, if these figures be taken as representative of all the births in the Borough, that at least 12 out of every 100 children born will have a struggle to get through the first year of life; be liable to attack by the dangerous and common disorders of infancy— epidemic diarrhœa and respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.)—and not well able to withstand them. Mothers' Work.—Of the 838 mothers, 67 per cent did only house work; 7.5 per cent. worked away from home, and a like number did some form of home work. The percentage of mothers occasionally working away frorm home was 18. Further reference to the matter of mothers' work will be found on page 34, under Infant Deaths.