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53
rate the trauma and burden of unplanned pregnancy. Personal
counselling, not only on contraception but also on sexual and
emotional problems, could be of inestimable value to the young.
In London, rates tend to be higher than that for the country as
a whole possibly by reason of a higher proportion of single females
but very probably because of the capital's compelling attraction
to pregnant women who find not only anonymity but better
facilities in the ante-natal, maternity, social and welfare fields.
Illegitimate births in Greenwich during the current year numbered
309, equivalent to 10% of all live births registered, an
increase of 0.2% over that of the previous year. In effect, this
means that one baby in every ten born of Greenwich residents was
illegitimate. Even so, this situation was the most favourable of all
the Inner London Boroughs whose average illegitimacy was 16.6%.
Figures for the Greater London area and for England and Wales
were 11.5% and 8.4% respectively.
It is conceivable that the reduction of illegitimate births in the
Borough from 366 in 1966 to the current figure of 309 constitutes a
tangible sign of the effectiveness of the Abortion and Family
Planning Acts of 1967 in limiting unwanted pregnancies.
Stillbirths
There has been a steady reduction of the stillbirth rate in
England and Wales from the 1930 figure of 41 to the present rate
of 12.5.
It is recognised that, to some extent, stillborn babies and those
who die within 7 days of birth reflect the efficiency or otherwise of
the obstetric services but recent studies instituted by the Medical
Research Council, et al, have confirmed that the mother's age,
parity and social class were found also to be significant factors.
Furthermore, improvements in this field were most marked in the
higher social classes.
Only 3 of the 42 Greenwich stillbirths registered during the year
occurred in private dwellings and the calculated rate per 1,000
total births was 13.39, an increase of 2.78 over that for 1970.
Greater London returned a rate of 11.7 while that for Inner
London was 11.5.
All stillbirths must be registered in accordance with the Registration
Service Act of 1953 as amended by the Population (Statistics)
Act, 1960, and must be accompanied by a statement as to cause.
An investigation of the 42 stillbirths occurring to Greenwich