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49
mortality in childhood.
Hopeless Births.—This term is given in these reports to the births of children whose deaths
are registered before or at the same time as their births. The time allowed for the registration
of births being limited to six weeks, all children coming within this category should be less than
six weeks old at death. It will, however, be seen (Table 31) that last year two deaths were
registered during the fifth month of life (at ages 4—5 months) and it is evident that such cases
scarcely constitute hopeless births, i.e., children born without a hope of surviving. Further, when
the causes of death are examined, it is apparent that certain of them are preventable, so that,
whatever the age at death, such cases are outside the definition.
Last year 101 deaths were registered before or at the time of registration of birth, 58 of the
children being males and 43 females. Such deaths formed 26 per cent. of the total number
(corrected) recorded at ages under one year. The appended statement shows that the proportion
of these deaths to all under one year tends to decrease, the average for the six years 1905-10
having been 30'5 per cent., or 4.5 per cent. higher than last year.
Per cent. of all
Total. Males. Females. deaths,
0—1 year.
1905 107 53 54 27.3
1906 89 42 47 25.2
1907 124 79 45 35.0
1908 104 58 46 29.8
1909 103 58 45 33.1
1910 97 56 41 32.4
1911 101 58 43 26.0
The subject of "hopeless births" is of interest in connection with questions of mortality due
to ante-natal causes and those relating to efforts (municipal and other) to check preventable
mortality. With reference to ante-natal causes, the ratio of such deaths to births appears to
afford the best measure of the effects of such causes. In the report for 1909 (p. 41) two methods
of obtaining such a ratio were proposed, viz.—
Method A.—For use when full returns of registration of births are available—in which the
number of deaths registered before or synchronously with registration of births are taken out; and
Method B. -For use when the dates of birth registration are not known—in which the deaths
at ages under one month are taken out, deaths due to overlying being omitted, and those due to
premature birth and congenital defects at ages 1—12 months included.
Method A can only be used locally, and it was suggested that the ratio to be calculated
should be based on the births registered in the district. The alternative method can be applied
to any tabulated statistics, and a ratio to the corrected births was therefore proposed. Below are
given the ratios (percentages) obtained from the Borough records from 1905 to the end of last
year. Combining the sexes, it appears that the average of hopeless births to all births was, by
Method A, 3.5 per cent. in 1911, as compared with an average (six years) of 3.3, and by
Method B 3 9, the same as the average.
Births Hopeless Percentage Bjrths Hopeless Percentage
Births. of Births. of
(uncorrected). (Method A ) Births. (corrected). (Method B) Births.
m. f. m. f. m. f. m. f. m. f. m. f.
1905 1,628 1,556 53 54 3,2 2,8 1,687 1,618 62 59 36 3,6
1906 1,633 1,519 42 47 2.5 3.0 1,719 1,567 56 56 3.2 2.5
1907 1,586 1,488 79 45 49 3.0 1,665 1,541 88 48 5.2 3.1
1908 1,609 1,540 53 46 3.2 2.9 1,678 1,618 75 64 4.3 3.9
1909 1,481 1,414 58 45 3.9 3.1 1,558 1,473 73 50 4.6 3.4
1910 1,462 1,447 56 41 3.4 2.8 1,455 1,419 73 43 5.0 3.0
1911 1,411 1,405 58 43 41 3.0 1,492 1,485 68 48 4.5 3.2
Mean percentages, 1905-10 3.6 3.1 4.3 3.4
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