View report page

66
The possible causes of the stillbirths do not admit
of very clear tabulation, but include the followingassignments,
with or without other complication: —
Large child 3
Abnormal delivery 2
Falls or strain during pregnancy 5
Ante-partum haemorrhage 4
Eclampsia (1); Placenta prævia (1) 2
Fright (3); Domestic worries (1) 4
Albuminuria 1
A glaring sidelight upon the housing conditions
of the people is afforded by the statistics as to accommodation
in 50 of these cases: —
Persons per room.
0—1 1—2 2—3 3—4 4—5 5 and over.
4 21 10 13 1 1 1
In other words, 50 per cent. of these families were
overcrowded, according to the low Census standard of
2 persons per room. In the last case referred to there
were seven persons living in a single room. The prospects
of a satisfactory live birth, to say nothing of
the child's after life, in such conditions can surely be
appreciated by the most limited imagination.
Seven mothers are shown as having attended the
Council's Maternity Clinic, and ten other mothers
attended other ante-natal clinics. Two of the mothers
attended the Council's Post-Natal Clinic after the confinement.
One mother with 11 children, apart from the stillbirth,
was found to be pregnant 6 months afterwards.
In addition to Housing reform, it is clear that some
measure of Birth Control is essential if healthy family
life is to be preserved. Such large families, often
including a high proportion of defectives, are a burden