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1930
26
The birth-returns recieved from the Registrar General do not
permit of the allocation of the whole of the births into wards, but
if the ward birth-rate is based upon the notification figures and
1 per thousand added to these rates, it will be sufficiently correct
for all practical purposes.
The birth-rate, based upon the notifications in the different
wards was :—
North East. North West. South East. South West.
16.7 17.3 10.6 19.6
69 children were born out of wedlock, which number corresponds
to an illegitimate birth-rate of 6.2 per cent. of the total
births.
This is not the highest illegitimate birth-rate on record for
the district, but it very nearly approaches the record. The highest
rate was in 1915 when it reached 6.3 per cent., and in 1917 and
1919, the rates equalled that of last year, namely 6.2 per cent.
It is sometimes assumed that the increased incidence of illegitimacy
was a war phenomenon, but this is not quite true of this
district. The illegitimate birth-rate began to ascend in 1912 when
the rate was 4.7 per cent. and previous to that date it had never
been higher than 3 per cent. In 1913 it was 5 per cent. and in
1914 5.1 per cent. After the war it gradually descended from 4
per cent. in 1920 to 2.9 per cent. in 1924. Since 1924 it has
gradually risen.
Although illegitimacy is primarily a social que.stion it has its
public health aspects, and usually is reflected in a district's
statistics, especially in infantile mortality. It is not generally
admitted that the infantile mortality is higher amongst children
born out of wedlock than amongst legitimately born children.
41 still-births were registered, a number which is equal to
.63 per 1,000 of the inhabitants and represents 3.7 per cent. of
the total live births registered.
DEATHS.
440 deaths were registered in the district: of these 31 were
of non-residents. 284 deaths of residents occurre.d outside the
district. The total number of deaths belonging to the district is
693, which corresponds to a death-rate of 10.6 per 1,000 inhabitants.
On Table 1 is given the death-rate for England and Wales
and the large towns. It will be seen that our death-rate is lower
than that of the whole of England and Wales, and also of London
and the 107 large towns, in which group Acton is included.
On Table 2 is given the statistics for the district in the last
6 years, and from that table it will be seen that last year's deathrate
was considerably lower than that of 1929. In 1929, there was
an extensive epidemic of Influenza which reflected itself in the
death-returns of that year.