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12
BIRTHS.
There is little room for doubt as to the incompleteness of the notification of still-births.
Comparison with the returns issued by other European countries, where registration of still-births
is practically universal, is not reliable as a measure of the incompleteness of the present returns,
as no legal definitions of "still-birth" or "still-born" have been up to the present formulated and
office regulations vary considerably. Nevertheless, a comparison with the records of cities such
as Vienna and Munich (3.7 per cent. of still-births), Dresden (3.9), Antwerp (4.4), and many
others—whatever their imperfections—confirms the opinion as to the incompleteness of the
figures submitted in the preceding paragraphs. A study of the causes producing still-births
cannot fail to be useful both by indicating the measures requisite to prevent such occurrences
and by furnishing suggestions for the prevention of that part of post-natal infantile mortality
which, at present, appears to be beyond human control—such causes of mortality as premature
birth, congenital defects, and the like are referred to.
In July of last year a report was published by the Royal Statistical Society giving the
results of an inquiry conducted by a Special Committee of the Society into the laws governing
the registration of births and deaths in force throughout the civilised world. That report gives
a full account of the diverse practices with regard to the registration of still-births, and points

The sources of the data in this Table are described in the text.

* Per 1,000 persons of all ages.