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43
labour, if not carried on later than the seventh or eighth month of
pregnancy, exerts a harmful influence upon the offspring. Miss
Anderson, in her evidence before the Committee on Physical
Deterioration, cited Acton as a district where inquiry might be profitably
made as to the extent and effects of employment of mothers
in laundries. Pressure of other work has prevented us from making
inquiries as to the extent, but some of the effects were inquired into.
Investigations were made into those deaths which were probably due
to antenatal causes, and to what extent they were affected by employment
of the mother whilst pregnant.
The causes of death most profoundly affected by antenatal
causes are Prematurity, Congenital Debility and Convulsions, and
the incidence of the mortality from these causes in certain districts
of the parish is not immaterial to the subject under consideration.
The area referred to on a previous page, i.e., the South-West Ward
and that portion of the North-West Ward south of the High Street,
could be designated as the home of the married female portion of
the laundry industry. Of the total deaths among infants 111 this
area, prematurity was certified as the cause of death in 11per cent.,
Congenital Debility 3.7 per cent., and Convulsions in 1.5 per cent.
In the rest of the district the figures were—Prematurity 15 per cent.,
Congenital Debility 16 per cent., and Convulsions 3 per cent.
Possibly, It would be fairer if these figures were given as a ratio
of the deaths from these causes to the births registered in the two
areas. The mortality from these causes would be as follows:—
Selected area. Rest of District.
Prematurity 18 per 1,000 births. 14 per 1.00a births.
Congenital Debility 6 per 1,000 births. 15 per 1,000 births.
Convulsions 2.4 per 1,000 births. 3 per 1,000 births.
It is admited, of course, that the number is too small to draw
any definite conclusion, but they may be useful in any future investigation
upon the infantile mortality. To supplement the above, inquiries
were also made as to the occupation of the mother where a
child had died from these causes.
Thirty deaths were inquired into; of these, in 20 instances the
mother was not engaged in any occupation except house work, and
in 10 the mother had to leave her house during the day for the