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55
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS.
The total number of live births registered during the year was
2,873, 1,422 males and 1,451 females. Of these 80 were illegitimate,
being a percentage of total births of 2.7.
2,299 births occurred in the district (2,236 live and 63 still
births). Of this number 164 (159 live and 5 still births) were to
residents of other districts, leaving 2,077 live births and 58 still
births notified in respect of local residents. Of this number, 1,287
were notified by midwives and 848 by doctors or parents.
808 (773 live and 35 still births) notifications were transferred
from other districts, being mostly in respect of births occurring to
Harrow mothers in London or in Middlesex County Council
Hospitals.
STILLBIRTHS.
51 male and 55 female stillbirths were registered, being a rate
per 1000 population of 0.66 compared with the figure of 0.61 for
the country as a whole.
In nearly one-half of the cases the infant was alive up to the
onset of labour at full term, the death occurring from injury or
shock during delivery. Included in these were cases of obstructed
labour, of post-mature infants or of very large babies at the first
confinement. Some of these cases would appear to be preventable
by ante-natal supervision and appropriate treatment. On the other
hand quite a number were first pregnancies in which, in spite of
possible difficulties at the confinement it is appropriate that there
should be a trial labour, though this should be permitted only in
the most favourable of surroundings.
In one quarter of the cases there was some abnormality on the
part of the mother which resulted in the death of the foetus, the
commonest being antepartum haemorrhage. A number of such
cases could be saved by the education of mothers as to the significance
of abnormalities, by the co-operation of the mother, by the
provision of domestic assistance and by a sufficiency of ante-natal
beds.
The remaining quarter were almost equally divided between
premature births at about seven months and full time infants. In
the latter group presumably the shock of delivery was too great for
the deficient stamina of the infant, though possibly some of these
might have survived an easier delivery. Of those prematurely
delivered, in some, no doubt, the premature confinement would
have occurred because of the previous death of the foetus.