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20
On analysis of the above tables it will be noted that over 60
per cent. of the total infant mortality occurred in the first three
months of life. If these figures are more closely investigated it
is found that of the total 186 deaths of infants under 1 year in 1925,
89, or 48 per cent., occurred in the first four weeks of life. It will
be noted further that most of these infants deaths were due to prematurity,
marasmus and congenital defects. These infants, therefore,
were born with such a heavy handicap that their chances of
survival were slight and, therefore, no post-natal care could have,
in the majority of cases, averted the result. While it is satisfactory
to note that much has been accomplished in reducing infant mortality,
especially in the later months of the first year of life, and that
no doubt a proportion of these neo-natal deaths (i.e., deaths of
infants in the first few weeks of life) are inevitable, the causes
responsible require further investigation, and more attention must
be paid to conditions which are favourable to a high incidence of
mortality in the early weeks of life, e.g., state of health, nutrition
and general ante-natal supervision of the mother.
Illegitimate Infant Deaths.
The death-rate amongst illegitimate children during 1925
was 113.2 per 1,000 births, as compared with 148.1 in 1924, 130.4
in 1923, 179.7 in 1922 and 183.2in 1921. The corresponding deathrate
of legitimate infants in 1925 was 56.5, the ratio of the mortalityrate
of illegitimate infants to that of legitimate being 2.00 to 1.

The above table shows that the death-rate amongst illegitimate
children, though much lower in 1925, is still twice the rate for
legitimate infants.