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Twenty-five of the 130 infants died during their first year of
life (i.e, 19.2 per cent.), showing a high rate of mortality. The
largest number of deaths occurred amongst the children of laundresses,
viz., 12, nearly 50 per cent. of the total deaths.
The nature of the diseases which caused the deaths of these
25 infants was in 11 cases diarrhæa, wasting diseases 8, other
diseases 6.
The average income of the families worked out at £1 2s. 6d.
weekly. In 90 per cent. of the cases the homes were found
to be clean or fairly clean.
As already stated, it would be practically useless to draw any
conclusions from the result of this enquiry in Battersea, but the
report of the Home Office on the investigation conducted throughout
the country will be awaited with interest, having regard to the
importance of the subject from the social and economic standpoint.
Notification of Births Act.
This useful Act was passed with the object of removing the
delay which, under the Registration (of Births) Acts, arose through
late registration of births. The Act, which was adopted by the
Council in 1907, came into force in March, 1908. The Act requires
that the birth of every child shall be notified to the Medical
Officer of Health within thirty-six hours. The notification is "in
addition to and not in substitution for the requirements of any
Act relating to the registration of births," and applies to any
child born " after the expiration of the twenty-eighth week of
pregnancy, whether alive or dead." In default of notification a
penalty of 20s. is provided.
The Act has now been in force in the Borough for nearly
two years, and the results so far appear to have fully justified its
adoption. During 1909, 2,933 notifications of birth were received,
1,046 births (i.e., 35 per cent.) were notified by medical practitioners,
914 (i.e., 31 per cent.) by midwives, and 973 (i.e., 33 per
cent.) by other persons. The number of births notified from each
of the registration sub-districts of the Borough was as follows:—
Eas Battersea 1,415
North-Wes Battersea 1,030
South-West Battersea 488
The number of births registered during the same period in
Battersea was 4,253. The proportion of notified to registered
births was, therefore, 69 per cent.
These results are on the whole satisfactory. Some little time
must necessarily elapse to permit of a new Act being sufficiently
known, but little difficulty has, so far, been experienced in connection
with the administration of its provisions in Battersea.