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81
ILLEGITIMACY.
Twenty-three illegitimate children were born during the year,
giving an illegitimate birth rate of 0.59 per thousand population,
illegitimacy thus forming 2.7 per cent, of the total birth rate
compared with 2.3 per cent, for the previous year. While the
infantile death rate among legitimate children was 76.05, that
among illegitimate children was equal to 217.39.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
While the birth rate for the district in 1925 was 21.4, the
infantile mortality rate was 80 compared with 22.3 and 85.1 repectively
in 1924. The number of deaths from diarrhœal diseases
under two years of age per 1,000 births was 10.9, forming 34.6
per cent, of the zymotic death rate, which was 0.67. The actual
number of deaths from all causes under one year was 66, 30 being ,
female and 36 male children. During the same period the infantile
mortality rate for England and Wales was 75, for the
105 Great Towns 79, for the 157 smaller towns 74, while in
London it was 67.
Deaths during the neonatal period have been considered in
a previous section. Sixteen children died over a month and
under three months, 9 over three months and under six months,
8 over six months and under nine months, and the remainder
between the ages of nine months and one year. In 6 cases
death was due to debility and marasmus, in 1 case to convulsions,
in 9 cases to diarrhoea, and in 13 cases to bronchitis and pneumonia.
From July to September 10 eases of summer diarhœa were
visited. The preponderance of artificial feeding among fatal eases
is noteworthy.
The infantile mortality rates for 1924 of 85.1 and of 80 for
1925 cannot be considered otherwise than high, and are attributable
partly to defective environment and sanitary conditions, but
it is well known that given the above conditions and a big percentage
of breast fed babies the infantile mortality rate will be