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births. 5
Notification of Births.—The Notification of Births Act, 1907 was adopted by the Council
in February, 1908. The Act provides for the notification to the Medical Officer of Health of
every birth—whether the child be alive or dead—within 36 hours of its occurrence. Miscarriages
at any date subsequent to the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy are to be notified.
The duty of notification is imposed upon—
(a) The father of the child, if actuallv residing in the house where the child is born; and
(b) Any person (i.e., medical attendant, midwife, or other person) in attendance at the birth, or
called in to attend on the mother within six hours of the birth taking place.
Failure to fulfil the duty entails a penalty not exceeding twenty shillings. The notification
of a birth is additional to and not in substitution for the registration thereof, the legal
provisions with reference to the latter remaining unaltered. Full information of the adoption
of the Act and its provisions was given during 1908 bv public notices, advertisements in the
local papers, and in January of the current year by inclusion in the "house sheets'' issued
annually by the Council to every house in the Borough.
During the past year 2,407 notifications were received relating to 2,360 births, 35.5 per
cent. of the notifications being received from parents, 18.4 per cent, from medical practitioners,
and 38.3 from midwives. One hundred and eighty notifications, equal to 7.4 per cent. of
the total were received from persons other than those already mentioned. Of the 2,360
children, 2,292 were stated to be alive and 68 still-born, equal to 2.8 per cent. of the total.
The illegitimate births numbered 87 (3.6 per cent. of the total) 5 of the children (5'7 per cent.)
being still-born. Ninety births were notified from the Workhouse, 3 (3.3 per cent.) of the
children being still-born.
Notifications were received with respect to 31 multiple births, 30 being twin births and
one a quadruplet. The twin births comprised 12 of males, 10 of females and 8 of mixed
sexes, and the quadruplet, three males and one female. In 24 instances both twins were
reported alive, and in two both dead. In the remaining four cases, one child was still-born.
All four children born at the quadruplet birth were reported still-born, but two of them were
subsequently registered as alive. The proportion of still-births among children born at
multiple births was 15.3 per cent.
A comparison of the returns of births registered in the Borough shows that of 2,895
births registered, 2,122 (or 73.2 per cent.) were notified in accordance with the Act. The
proportion for the individual quarters of the year were 66.1 per cent. in the first, 73.2 in the
second, 77.9 in the third, and 76.7 in the fourth, showing a decided improvement in the
second half of the year. Of the 143 illegitimate births 102 (71.3 per cent.) were notified, but
the proportions in the four quarters of the year exhibit greater irregularities than are to be
observed in those already given for all births. In the first quarter of the year 69.7 per cent.
of the registered illegitimate births had been notified, in the second, 64T, in the third, 80.0
and in the fourth, 75.0.
The proportion of notifications to registered births (per cent.) was highest in the North
Registration Sub-District, and lowest in the South. (See below).
Notification of Births.
Registration Sub-District. North. Central. South.
All Births. 79.1 71.6 49.0
Illegitimate Births. 53.1 78.8 42.7