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6
Partly as a natural consequence of the return of men from overseas, and partly
as a result of the war-time disturbance of the normal marriage rate associated with
Service movements, the birth-rate in London, as elsewhere in the country, reached
a very high level in 1946 and 1947, greatly exceeding the pre-war level, but the
history of the period following the 1914-18 war had indicated that substantial changes
could occur in a comparatively short time, and it is not surprising that a decline took
place. The point of interest now lies in how far the decline may proceed. The 1949
rate is still well above the pre-war level. The Royal Commission on Population have
affirmed that the statistical evidence laid before them indicated that the high birthrates
of recent years were mainly due to the postponement or anticipation of births
which would under normal conditions have been more evenly spread. As yet there
has been no appreciable increase in the average size of family nor is there any convincing
sign that the lowered average age of marriage in recent years will bring any
increase in size of family. The present average size of family is a little below
replacement level.
Illegitimacy
There were 3,880 illegitimate births (6.9 per cent. of the total live births).

The peak of the war-time rise occurred in 1945, with a rapid reduction after the
end of hostilities. The percentage for 1949 taken together with those for the two
preceding years indicates that the rate is now fairly stable.
Deaths under one year among illegitimate infants amounted to 41 per 1,000
illegitimate live births, compared with a rate of 26 for legitimate births. The corresponding
rates in 1948 were 39 and 30 respectively. A detailed comparison of deaths
in the legitimate and illegitimate groups is given in Table 6 (p. 123).
Still-births
There were 1,134 still-births in 1949 or 1.97 per cent, of all births (legitimate
1.93, illegitimate 2.46). The number of still-births and the rate per 1,000 total births
in each year since 1928 is shown in Table 5, from which it will be seen that after
remaining stable for many years the still-birth rate fell sharply in 1943 and though
it has since followed a downward trend there has been in no year an improvement
comparable with that between 1942 and 1943. Possible reasons were reviewed in the
report for 1946, where it was suggested that an improvement in the health of the
mother as a result of increased emphasis upon dietary supplementation, of
more effective ante-natal care generally, and of more skilled obstetric service had led
to a sharp fall in the still-birth rate. Since that review was made the special character
of the fall between 1942 and 1943 has become more apparent; this must have been
due either to some contemporary factor such as the food priorities which were
authorised about that time or to some new factor. There is a possibility that the
higher fertility rates now obtaining may in part be due to less voluntary or deliberate
restriction of families in the middle classes, than before the war.
Mortality
The total civilian deaths in 1949 amounted to 39,455, or 11.7 per 1,000 of the
civil population. Detailed figures are given in Tables 2, 3 and 4, on pp. 119, 120, 121.
Mortality from infectious disease is discussed below under that heading, and tuberculosis
is dealt with separately. For the latter and other principal causes of death the
trend is indicated by the diagram (on p. 8). The sharp changes between 1939 and
1940 are attributable to two causes. In the first place, the Registrar-General
abandoned the rules of selection which had hitherto operated in multiple causes of