69i PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION I. 



At the present time th3 standard of knowledge is not very high 

 among some of the unqualified, and, therefore, untrained women, who 

 pose as the modern Sairey Gamps. Beyond a small amount of 

 technical work, this class of women, who practice their so-called pro- 

 fession among the poorer classes of the community, know nothing of 

 the feeding and care of infants. The elimination of these unsuitable 

 and untrained women, and replacement by qualified, skilled, and 

 experienced nurses, would do much to increase both the safety and 

 comfort of the mother and the viability of the infant. 



Midwives must be scrupulously clean in every way. Nothing is so 

 imiportant in successful midwifeiy as absolute cleanliness. Her duty 

 is not only the care of the mother, but the care of the newly-born 

 .infant as well. 



As the child that is not suckled has only half the chance of living 

 that a breast-fed infant has, the mother must in all cases, where 

 practicable, be encouraged to suckle the child herself. The tendency 

 of some midwives to advise early weaning of the child is a responsi- 

 bihty which should not be assumed except after advice by the medical 

 man, if any, in attendance. 



A body of skilled and experienced obstetric nurses could do much 

 in the direction of the dissemination of knowledge as to the care and 

 feeding of infants. 



Legislation for the regulation of the milk supply is enacted, or 

 should be enacted, with the fact in mind that milk is a food. " The 

 Dairy Produce Act of 190-1 '' of this State marked a departure in milk 

 legislation from somewhat established lines. " The Health Act of 

 1900 " makes no reference to the control and inspection of dairies, the 

 Local Authorities having had power under "The Health Act Amencl- 

 me7it Act of 1886" to make by-laws for the registration, cleansing, 

 lighting, ventilation, drainage, and water-supply of dairies, as also- 

 for prescribing the precautions to be taken for protecting milk against 

 contamination or infection. 



" The Dairy Prnduce Act of 1904," administered by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, provided that the by-laws made by the local 

 authorities under '" The Health Act Amendment Act of 1886 " should 

 be suspended in any district assigned to an inspector appointed under 

 the Dairy Act. 



This latter Statute thereby modified the practice of the Health 

 Department and the Local Authorities with respect to the supervision 

 of the milk supply and the maintenance of the dairy inspection service. 



While the relation of the milk supply to the public health i? 

 important in the raiTtter of a general food service and the spread of 

 diseases through the agency of milk, the relation between tlie milk 

 supply and infant mortality has commonly been accepted as tlie 

 standard by which the efficiency of the mi]k-inspection service is 

 measured. While it can be shown that many factors other than the 

 milk supply have been at work to increase the number of infantile 

 deaths, the intimate relation between diarrhoeal diseases and digestive 

 troubles among infants under 2 years of age and the milk supply is 

 now almost universally conceded by the medical profession. 



Stated, as a general proposition, then, the control of tlie milk 

 supply from the cow to the child should be in the hands of the medical 



