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of the improved health of the expectant mothers of the district and the care that is being
taken of them.
The number of illegitimate births has fallen from 313 in 1947 to 281 in 1948. It is,
however, 11.5 per cent. of live births, a figure which has been practically constant since 1946 ;
was exceeded during the later years of the war ; but is higher than any figure recorded from
1918 until 1937. On the other hand the death rate amongst illegitimate children is 42 per
thousand, and this is the lowest infantile mortality rate for illegitimate infants that has ever
been recorded in the borough. It compares with the infantile death rate of 37 per thousand
for all children, legitimate and illegitimate. A survey of previous years shows that the death
rate for illegitimate babies under one year of age has been as high as 237 per thousand in 1918.
It has always been approximately twice as high as that for legitimate children. This
approximation of the figures shows that there is a keener appreciation of the need of care for
the illegitimate baby and the unmarried mother. In many cases the unmarried mother lives
in the home of her parents, is treated as a member of the family, and normal channels are
used for ante-natal care and confinement. In other cases this position does not occur, and
the unmarried mother, sometimes quite a young girl, is left to make her own arrangements
with little help from her family. In these cases the help of voluntary agencies is forthcoming,
with the resultant reduced mortality figures which it is now possible to show.