91热爆

The small village of Eton Wick was at the forefront of changes to Infant Welfare which began during World War One, when one of the first baby clinics was started in the village hall. A committee was set up in March 1914 to improve maternity care in the village and in January 1915, Miss Orchard, a maternity nurse had come to live there and set up 鈥淏abies Welcome鈥�, which began on Friday 19 February 1915.

It was held weekly at the Eton Wick Village Hall, known then as The Institute, and all mothers with pre-school aged children were encouraged to go along to weigh their babies and be given advice on subjects such as feeding. They were also taught how to make children鈥檚 clothes and it became a regular social event with mothers drinking tea while their children played.

The nurse was supplied by the Eton Wick Nursing Association, which was run by a committee of ladies, and formed part of the Church of England鈥檚 ministry to the working class. The Eton doctor attended once a month and wives of masters at Eton College helped organise the clinic and gave talks to the mothers. The clinic has continued in various formats since then and is still held at the village hall and attended by a local doctor once a month, the social side, however, is now provided by local church toddler groups.

In 1914, infant mortality was high, poverty was widespread among the working classes, housing conditions poor and disease and ill health a major problem. The introduction of Infant Welfare was part of the movement to improve conditions for mothers and working women with the aim of producing healthier children, although the focus at the time was often on maternal ignorance and fecklessness rather than the underlying causes of poverty.

Location: Eton Wick Village Hall, Windsor SL4 6LT
Image: Main Road, Eton Wick c1910, courtesy of Reading Library
Extracts from Eton Parish magazine courtesy of Mrs Joan Ballhatchet

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