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For each 1,000 girls born, there were in—
1914 1,080 boys. 1921 1,067 boys.
1915 1,033 boys. 1922 987 boys.
1916 965 boys. 1923 1,082 boys.
1917 914 boys. 1924 1,086 boys.
1918 1,177 boys. 1925 1,041 boys.
1919 965 boys. 1926 985 boys.
1920 972 boys. 1927 1,036 boys.
Still-birlhs.—36 still-born children were notified during the year,
15 of this number being born to non-residents of Westminster. The
corresponding figure for 1926 was 47. Under the Births and Deaths
Registration Act, 1926, which came into force on 1st July, 1927, all stillbirths
must be registered.
Inquiries into 10 of these cases elicited that in 2 ante-partum
ha?morrhage from Placenta Prævia caused the death of the infant; protracted
labour from mal-presentation accounted for 4. In 3 there was
a history of fall, fright and accidents, and in 1 there was the possibility
of venereal disease being present.
The Ministry of Health is desirous that certain figures supplied by the
Registrar-General, and statistics based thereon, should, for the purpose
of comparison, be included in this Report. In making these comparisons
one thing must not be forgotten—-the difference between notified cases of
infectious disease as supplied by the Registrar-General, and upon which
figures are based not only the case rates, etc., for Westminster, but for
London and the County as a whole; and the return of cases of infectious
diseases as compiled by the Medical Officer of Health. As statistics must,
to a certain degree, portray the health of a community, every effort is
made in Westminster to confine figures to cases in which the diagnosis
has been confirmed. During 1927, 40 cases, or roughly 12 per cent. of
the diphtheria and scarlet fever cases, were discharged from hospitals as
not suffering from these diseases—these figures are not supplied to the
Registrar-General. Another important factor is the number of infectious
disease cases for which certificates are not submitted, and therefore
cannot be forwarded to the Metropolitan Asylums Board, from which
source the Registrar-General obtains his figures. Obviously the totals
of cases and case rates must be seriously affected if the same conditions
prevail among other Metropolitan Boroughs and the various Councils
throughout the country.