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27
The causes of death among the population of
Bethnal Green as classified by the Registrar-General,
are given in the accompanying table.
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
During the year systematic inquiry has been made
into every maternal death belonging to the Borough.
The cases investigated fall into the following groups: —
(a) Septicaemia following abortion 2
(b) Other cases of Septicæmia 2
(c) Other causes of death directly
connected with childbirth 6
There were also two other cases in which childbirth
was complicated by other conditions (Pneumonia,
Endorcarditis) but these are not counted as cases of
maternal mortality.
The foregoing figures represent a relapse in the
Borough's record with regard to maternal mortality
which, on the whole, has compared favourably with that
of other districts in recent years. Abortion again
appears as a cause, and it is no doubt more prevalent
than these figures would suggest.
None of the mothers concerned attended the
Council's Maternity Clinic, and only 5 of them are
known to have received any ante-natal care. One of
the medical reports contains the significant comment:
" I think that skilled ante-natal supervision at a Clinic
would have disclosed the disproportion and it could
then have been dealt with at election." Another says:
"If the patient had had ante-natal treatment case could
have been dealt with by Cæsarean section." It is not
only necessary, however, to obtain advice but also to
act on it. A doctor reports: "I advised induction: this