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INFANTILE MORTALITY
There were 31 deaths of infants under one year of age, as against
694 births ; the proportion which the deaths under one year bear
to 1,000 births is therefore 44.6 as compared with 51.4 for the
previous year, and is the lowest infantile mortality rate yet recorded
in the borough. m. F.
Deaths under 1 vear:Legitimate 17 11
ueatns under i year. |niegitimate 2 1
The chief cause of mortality among infants in 1936, as appearing
in Table II, was, as usual, prematurity with 8 deaths as compared
with 8 deaths for the previous year.
The next largest cause of death was pneumonia with 6 deaths
as compared with 9 for the previous year.
Two deaths were attributed to infectious disease (Whooping
Cough).
It will be noted that during 1936 the deaths during the first
four weeks of life amounted to 13, a percentage of 42 of the total
infantile mortality during the first year of life, also that 11 of these
infant deaths occurred during the first week of life.
The reason for the high rate of mortality during the first month
of life is that the children who receive injuries at birth and those
suffering from developmental and wasting diseases die soon after
birth.
During the past 30 years the Infant Mortality rate has fallen
some 50%, but this fall has occurred mainly subsequent to the
first few weeks of life, the death rate during the first four weeks
remaining much the same.
When every mother, and especially a first mother, attends an
ante.natal clinic, or is otherwise kept under medical supervision
during her pregnancy, then there should result a diminution in the
number of deaths of babies at this early age.
14