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births.
medical practitioners 679 certificates were received, forming 233 per cent, of the total, as compared
with 18.9 per cent, in 1910. The notifications by parents constituted 36.3 per cent. (39.7
per cent, in 1910), and those from midwivcs, 346 per cent. (36 per cent, in 1910).
The 2,782 births notified included 86 (3.1 per cent.) of children born dead, as against 2.6 per
cent, in the previous year, and 94 of illegitimate children, equal to 3.4 per cent, of the whole, the
proportion in 1910 having been 2.6 per cent. Five of the illegitimate children were notified as
still-born, equal to 5.3 per cent, of such children, a slightly smaller proportion than that recorded
in the previous year (5.5 per cent.). Among the 132 births notified from the Workhouse there
were 4 (3 per cent.) still-born, a lower proportion again than in 1910 (4.8) There were 32 twin
births notified, 8 of males and 12 each of females and mixed sexes. One of the children was
reported dead in each of two male twin births, and one of each of the other two classes. The
proportion of still-born children among those born in multiple births was 6.2 per cent., whereas
the corresponding figure in 1910 was only 23 per cent.*
Of the 2,810 births registered during the past year 2,660 (94.4 per cent.) had been notified,
an increase of 10 per cent, above the proportion recorded in 1910. Below are given certain
comparisons for the three years during which notification has been in force, which show that
the practice has made a fairly steady progress:—
Quarters. 1 2 3 4
1911 92.3 95.0 96.7 93.2
Borough 1910 76.0 81.0 92.0 84.4
1911. 1910. 1909.
North 96.1 87.8 79.1
Registration Central 95.5 81.7 71.6
Sub-Districts South 79.5 78.3 49.0
Borough 94.4 84.4 73.2
Transferred Births.—Last year the Registrar-General established a "clearing-house''
system for births. A return was received from him in February of this year showing the
numbers of births recorded last year in the Borough which he was transferring elsewhere, and
the number of births which took place outside the Borough which he was including in the local
statistics. On this occasion bare numbers only have been supplied, but it is hoped that
ultimately full particulars will be given of each birth. With the present information it is
impossible to allocate the births to the Wards to which they properly belong, and therefore
they have been excluded from the figures given in the preceding paragraphs, and in the
I ables 4 and II. (Appendix A). The corrections resulting from the use of the figures supplied
by the Registrar-General are shown below:—
All Births. Males. Females. Persons.
Births registered within the Borough 1,409 1,406 2,815
Less outward transfers 17 15 32
Plus inward transfers 132 124 276
Nett totals 1,524 1,515 3,059
I he total of 3,059 births is equivalent to a completely corrected rate of 21.46 per 1,000 persons
as compared with one of 20.88 obtained from the corrections made by the Department.
The transfers of illegitimate births numbered 26 outwards (12 of males and 14 of females)
and 70 inwards (33 of males and 37 of females). The corrected total of such births was 215
(113 of males and 102 of females), equal to 7 per cent. of the finally corrected total of all
births.
*The births of 7 children born and notified during 1911 had not been registered at the end of April
of the current year. Special inquiries made in these cases were fruitless, as the families had gone away, in all
except one. In that case the family was traced, and the parents stated that they thought "registration" was not
required after " notification." Possibly the other parents thought so too.