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30
NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS ACT, 1907
This Act was adopted by the Council on January 13th, and
came into force on February 19th, 1908, after confirmation by the
Local Government Board.
During the year 3,502 notifications were received. These births
were notified as follows:—
Notified by medical men 1058
Notified by parents 1456
Notified by certified midwives 817
Notified by uncertificated midwifery nurses, before
April, 1910 117
Ditto, after April 1st, 1910 54
171
3502
The number of births which actually occurred in the borough
during the year was 3,810. The number of births notified by parents,
medical men and midwives therefore amounted to 92 per cent. of
the total.
As instructed I have to report that the following measures are
adopted with a view of diminishing the mortality among young
nfants.
All houses were births have taken place are visited by one of the
health visitors, if the home circumstances are such as to make it
probable that any advice given will be acceptable or necessary No
hard and fast rule is drawn, but an endeavour is made to include all
houses where a medical man is not likely to be in attendance for more
than ten days after the confinement of the mother. The number of
visits paid during 1910 amounted to 6,305. In most instances it is
not possible to make more than two visits during the first six months of
life. I am strongly of opinion that the visits made by the health
visitors should be supplemented by medical advice at an Infants'
Consultation. An attempt has at present been made to carry this into
effect in two parts of the Borough, but it is too early to say whether
mothers will avail themselves of the assistance placed at their disposal.
Other means taken to check infantile mortality in Croydon include
inquiries into deaths under one year of age, and the very general dissemination
of leaflets. A special handbill has been prepared in connection
with puerperal fever and other accidents of childbirth, clothing