82 INFANTS' MILK DEPOTS 



by house to house visiting. The Health Board in almost every 

 city or town will probably be glad to supply names and addresses 

 of new babies born; and it will not be long, if the depot is cen- 

 trally located, before the nurse has all the babies she wants, and 

 more. 



By this time she finds it necessary to adopt a 

 DAILY daily schedule. During certain hours in the 

 SCHEDULE: morning the milk is distributed. At first she 

 will distribute it herself; later, as the work 

 grows, she will secure assistance. Still later, if it is a large city 

 where there is great demand for the milk, this work may be 

 turned over entirely to the person or persons who are delivering 

 the milk to the depot so that these persons will actually sell the 

 milk in addition to producing, handling and delivering it. But 

 although the nurse no longer actually dispenses the milk herself, 

 she will keep "office hours" during all or part of the period of 

 its distribution in order that mothers may advise with her and 

 that she may keep in daily touch with each infant under her care. 

 This is a most important feature of the depot work and one which 

 contributes greatly to its success. Nurses who do house to house 

 visiting and have no central place like the depot are greatly handi- 

 capped, as they are thus compelled to make separate visits to 

 each home at a great loss of time and energy. 



Classes for mother should be arranged 



THE at regular intervals throughout the week. 



CONSULTATIONS: If there are only 25 or 30 babies, one 



doctor can handle them at one consulta- 

 tion weekly. If the same doctor has the time, he can handle 

 twice the number of babies in two consultations weekly, or, better 

 than this, because it promotes a feeling of fraternity among the 

 physicians, two doctors can do the work together. I prefer to see 

 a depot in which several physicians have one consultation each 

 than a depot in which one practitioner monopolizes it all. The 

 conduct of the consultations depends upon the personality of the 

 doctor and the nurse. Some physicians are born educators, and 

 can talk easily to all the mothers as they weigh, examine and 

 prescribe for the individual babies. This method is a very good 

 one, as each mother is stimulated into a sort of competition by 

 the necessity of exhibiting her baby weekly in the full presence 

 of all the other mothers. The strain upon the doctor's voice and 

 nerves, however, is considerable, especially when the weather is' 

 hot and the babies are restive; and many physicians prefer to 

 meet their mothers individually. Probably this method will appeal 

 most to the average practitioner, who, it must be remembered, is 

 still far from being what we all hope to see him one of these 

 days, a teacher and educator. But the opportunity to instruct a 



