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Table B shows that 25 per cent. of infant deaths from diarrhœal
diseases occurred amongst breast-fed children, and the remaining
75 per cent. amongst children who were either entirely hand fed or
had artificial kinds of food as well as breast fed.
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 past year 1,894 notifications
were received. These births were notified as follows:—
Notified by medical men 511
Notified by parents 333
Notified by certified midwives 1001
I,845
Stillborn births notified 49
Total 1,894
MIDWIVES' ACT, 1902.
Seventeen midwives attended at the Municipal Infant Centre,
228, London Road, for inspection, etc., during 1918. One hundred
and ten visits were paid by the Inspector of Midwives to the houses
of 25 midwives. She does not visit the midwives at St. Mary's Hostel
nor those resident outside the Borough. During the year 3 registered
midwives left the district, I died, and 7 new names were added, leaving
30 on the register on December 31st, r9i8.
GENERAL MATTERS.
INFLUENZA.
General.
The Borough was visited by influenza in epidemic form on two
occasions during 1918. The first outbreak occurred in June and July
and was of a mild character, the total number of deaths from this
disease during these two months totalling 28, of which 19 occurred
in the first two weeks in July. The second outbreak lasted for nearly
the whole of the fourth quarter of the year and was of an exceptionally
severe type. Exceedingly grave complications accompanied the
illness in a large proportion of cases, the most fatal of these being
septic pneumonia. The first of the tables immediately following shews
the deaths from influenza, pneumonia and various other diseases
during each week of the year, and it will be observed that the greatest
mortality for the second outbreak of influenza occurred in the week
ended November 2nd, when no deaths from this cause were
recorded. The total deaths from influenza during the year was 478
practically all of which occurred during the two epidemic periods.