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18
BIRTHS.
3,781 births occurred during the year. That number
falls short of the number for last year by two, and the birth
rate has fallen from 26.6 to 25.9.
1,951 of the children born were males, and 1,830
females.
The illegitimate births numbered 87, representing a
percentage of 2.3. The percentage for 1912 was 2.6, for
1911 1.1, and for 1910 16.
3,312 births were notified in compliance with the
requirements of the Notification of Births Act. Doctors
notified 559, Midwives, 1,554, and 1,199 notifications were
received from other sources.
The total number of births registered in England and
Wales was 881,480, giving a birth rate of 23.9 per 1,000.
The rate for 1912 was 23.8, and that was the lowest on
record.
The declining birth rate in a district whose population is
rapidly increasing calls for comment. It is the opinion of
your Medical Officer that this anomalous condition does not
arise from natural causes. Physiological rules cannot be
violated with impunity, and it may well be that many
afflictions which are becoming increasingly prevalent are due
to irregularities of the kind suggested.