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BIRTHS. 5
Illegitimate Births.—The births registered locally included 149 of illegitimate children
viz., 78 boys and 71 girls, of whom 52 were born in the Workhouse. In 1907 the illegitimate
births numbered 123. Twenty-nine of the births recorded last year did not belong to the
Borough, and 31 belonging to the Borough were recorded beyond its boundaries, giving a nett
total of 151 births, as compared with 134 in the previous year. These births were equivalent
to 4.5 per cent. of all births, showing an increase of 0.5 per cent. above the proportions for
the two preceding years (4.0). The percentages of these births to all births (Table 2) were
higher last year in five out of the eight Wards, those with lower proportions being Church,
Lancaster Gate, East, and Hyde Park Wards.*
Notification of Births.—The Notification of Births Act, 1907, was adopted by the Council
on February 4th of last year, the adoption covering the whole Borough. The Order of the
Local Government Board confirming the adoption was received on May 30th, the date
for the commencement of the Act being fixed for June 8th.
The Act provides for the notification of every birth—whether the child be alive or dead—
to the Medical Officer of Health, within thirty-six hours of such birth. The duty of so
notifying is imposed on—
(a) The father of the child, if actually residing in the house where the birth takes place at the
time of its occurrence ; and
(b) Any person (i.e., medical practitioner or midwife) in attendance on the mother at the time
of the child's birth, or within six hours thereafter.
Miscarriages terminating pregnancies of twenty-eight weeks' duration, are to be notified as
births. Failure to carry out the requirements of the Act entails a liability to prosecution
carrying a penalty not exceeding one pound. Notification of a birth is additional to and not
in substitution for the registration of such birth. Medical practitioners and midwives on the
Roll are supplied with stamped letter cards on which are printed forms for notifying the
births.
Although the Act was not in force until June 8th, notifications were received from the
beginning of the year, 74 births being so reported.
Between June 9th and December 31st, 1,027 births were notified, including 25 relating to
illegitimate children, equivalent to 2.4 per cent. of all the births reported. Fifty-two (5.0 per
cent.) of the children were reported as born dead, 30 being male births and 21 female, the
sex in the remaining case not being stated. One child notified as still-born was subsequently
registered as a live birth. Twelve twin births were notified.
The notifications were received from the parent in 439 cases, from the medical attendant
in 224, from midwives in 298, and from other persons in 66. The provisions of the Act were
therefore put into effect by the parent in 42.7 per cent. of the cases, by the medical attendant
in 21.8 per cent., and bv midwives in 29.0 per cent. The proportion of registered births to
notified rose fairly steadily from the first to the last week of the period here dealt with, but
in the last week of the year the births which had not been notified represented 35.4 per cent.
of the births registered. No legal proceedings had been instituted for failure to comply with
the Act, up to the close of the year.†
* It should be stated that the Register at Queen Charlotte's Hospital shows that 15 other illegitimate children
were born there, of mothers admitted from Paddington, but further enquiries disclosed the fact that none of those
children belonged to the Borough.
† The arrangements which have been made to take advantage of the new sources of information, are dealt
with under " Infant Rearing."