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The estimated mid-1959 female population for England and Wales
age 15.44 was 9,022,000.
As stated overleaf there were no maternal deaths in Wimbledon
during 1959.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
During 1959 there were 20 deaths among infants under one year
of age, compared with 15 in 1958 and an average of 13 in the last ten
years. Two of the deaths were in respect of illegitimate children.
The resultant infant mortality rate for Wimbledon per thousand
live births was 23.64. The infant mortality rate for England and Wales
in 1959 was the low record of 22.2, the lowest previously recorded being
22.6 in 1958.
The number of neo-natal deaths (i.e. those occurring during the
first four weeks of life) was 18, giving a neo-natal death rate of 21.2
per thousand live births, as compared with a rate of 15.8 for England
and Wales.
As is usual, the commonest cause of death (14 out of 20 deaths)
was from prematurity.
While fluctuations are likely to occur in dealing with relatively
small numbers, it should be mentioned that whether a death in early
life occurs as a stillbirth or a neo-natal death is something of a chance.
It is not surprising therefore that the increase in the number of infant
deaths in Wimbledon in 1959 was accompanied by a decline in the
number of stillbirths notified.
The following table shows the cause of the 20 deaths which
occurred during 1959, together with the age at death.
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