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It will be noticed that as in 1913, more than one-fifth of the deaths were due to premature
birth or congenital defects, that is to say to antenatal causes. Until the nature of these causes has
been determined, it is not likely that any considerable reduction will be effected in the number of
the deaths returned in each year under these two heads. Wasting diseases, bronchitis and
pneumonia together produced 84 deaths, or more than one-fourth of the total number, and here
there is no doubt scope for preventive work. Forty-seven deaths were due to diarrhoea or enteritis.
The effect of Age.—In its bearing on the scope of preventive work, the age incidence
of death in infants is important. Of the total deaths 67 took place in the first week, and 115—or
less than one-third in the first four weeks of life. Premature birth and congenital defects accounted
for 48 or nearly half the deaths occurring at this early period. Twenty-two children died of
wasting or debility before the age of 14 days, and of this number a large proportion were no doubt
either born prematurely or with some constitutional or physical defect. The conclusion suggested
is that in the first three weeks of life 73 deaths occurred which were not preventable, in the sense
that they took place in defective children whom no ordinary care could have saved. At this period,
there were only 3 deaths from pneumonia and bronchitis and 2 deaths from diarrhoea. After the
first month a large proportion of the deaths, which decline steadily in number with advancing age,
may be regarded as an unnecessary and avoidable loss to the community. The dangers of weaning
and artificial feeding are shown by the appearance of 14 deaths from diarrhoea in the age period
3—6 months, and of deaths from tuberculosis after the fourth week, whilst the deaths from wasting
must now be accepted as directly due to want of breast milk and improper feeding, rather than to
congenital debility. A detailed analysis of the deaths in infants according to age and cause will be
found in Table IV. in the Appendix.
Illegitimacy.—Forty-one deaths occurred among illegitimate infants. The illegitimate
births numbered 151. The mortality among the illegitimate was accordingly equivalent to a rate of
272 deaths per 1,000 births, as compared with a rate of 86 among those born in wedlock.
Occupation of Mother.—The subjoined Table shows the occupation of the mother and
other particulars recorded by the Health Visitors in their visits to the homes of infants who died
in 1914, and of infants who were notified in and survived to the end of the same year. No
particulars have been obtained in the case of infants in homes where the income presumably exceeds
40s. per week, as this class of home is not visited and illegitimate children have been excluded.
A comparison of the percentages shown in the Table suggests that the death-rate is distinctly greater