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he is actually residing in the house where the birth takes place at the time
of its occurrence, and of any person in attendance upon the mother at the
time of or within six hours after the birth, to give notice within thirty-six
hours, in writing, of the birth, to the Medical Officer of Health.
Any person who fails to give notice of a birth as above is liable to a
penalty not exceeding twenty shillings, but is not liable to such penalty
if he satisfies the Court that he had reasonable grounds to believe that
notice had been duly given by some other person.
The notification required to be given under the Act is in addition to,
and not in substitution for, the requirements of any Act relating to the
registration of births.
3363 notifications were received during the statistical year 1908,
ended 2nd January, 1909.
Immediately upon the receipt of a notification, the following are
posted off to the mother :—" Hints regarding the Management of Infants,"
directions as to " Method of Boiling Milk," a handbill respecting
" Prevention of Summer Diarrhoea among Infants " (see page 109) and
another handbill informing the mother that the Poplar Health
Visiting Association have established in certain districts " Consultation
Days" for mothers to bring their babies and obtain advice either about
their own health or that of the baby from the doctor or trained nurse who
will be in attendance on these consultation days, and mothers can have
their babies weighed. (See page 17.)
By Section 1 (4) of the Notification of Births Act, 1907, the Registrars
of Births and Deaths shall at all reasonable times have access to notices
of births received by the Medical Officer of Health under this Act or to
any book in which those notices may be recorded.
By Section 2 (5) in London the Medical Officer of Heath of every
Metropolitan Borough in which this Act is in force shall send weekly to
the London County Council on a form prescribed by the London Government
Board a list of all notices of births received by him under the Act
during the week.
In Poplar the Public Health Department, to assist the Registrars,
sends a press copy of the weekly list mentioned above to the Registrars of
Births and Deaths. Every week the Registrars forward to the Public
Health Department a return of births registered by them during the week.
When the Registrars' returns are received the children are for the most
part over six weeks old.