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60
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
Notification of Births.
1,707 notifications of live births were received during the year
321 notifications (including stillbirths) were received from
medical practitioners and parents, and 1,451 from midwives.
In addition, information was received of 291 births outside
this area. The following list shows where most of these births
occurred:—East End Maternity Hospital 102, Old church Hospital
70, Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, 28, Charing Cross Hospital
28, Plaistow Maternity Hospital 17.
Illegitimate births accounted for only 2.4 per cent. of the
total births.
Stillbirths.
39 male and 26 female stillbirths were notified, the corresponding
figures for registration being 47 and 28. The rate per 1,000
of total population registered was 0.76, the rate for England and
Wales being 0.62. The percentage of illegitimate stillbirths to
total was 4.0, compared with a percentage of illegitimate to
total births of 2 .4.
Out of 45 cases the infant was dead before the onset of labour
in 14. There was a history of illness of the mother in three of
these cases. Another one suffered from albuminuria, and three
suffered from ante-partum haemorrhage. Of those which died
during labour, delivery was difficult or obstructed in 15, malpresentation
accounting for three of these, breech delivery a
further three and contracted pelvis for 5. One stillbirth occurred
during a caesaream section, one was due to a cord presenting and
in one patient labour had been induced. The mother was eclamptic
in two cases. Premature delivery was the cause in three cases; in
two of these the onset of labour being attributable to shock and
another to a fall.
There was one case of severe developmental abnormality
spina bifida.
Infant Mortality.
86 infants under one year of age died during the year, giving
an infant mortality rate of 48.2, compared with that of 64 for