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The infant mortality rate used to be accepted as a guide to the
social or sanitary state of a community. With the marked decline in
deaths associated with unsatisfactory environmental factors, its
reliability in this respect is now less. What association remains, though,
led one to assume that the disturbances resulting from total war would
be reflected in a rise in the rate. The quite marked rise in 1940, then
and even a further increase in 1941 were not unexpected. An analysis
of the causes of the deaths though, more particularly when it was found
that the increases in deaths over those of a standard year occurred in
different age groups in the two years, and were also the result of different
abnormal conditions, suggested that such rise as had occurred was not
necessarily to be expected for the rest of the war years. The following
is a summary of the analysis of the deaths in these two years which
appeared in the report for 1941:
"it can be seen that the increase in the deaths amongst children
under one month of age arises not in the earlier period but is due to a
heavier mortality due to respiratory affections and abdominal disturbances
in those who had survived their seventh day. There was
little enough change in the mortality of those dying before this time,
suggesting then that the increase in the infant mortality did not arise
from a lower standard of the ante-natal or midwifery services or from
an impairment in the condition of the expectant mother.
"What was saved in the neonatal deaths in 1941 as compared with
1940 though was lost in the later months, the increase being equally
apportioned between respiratory and abdominal disturbances. Having
regard to the severe weather experienced in the earlier part of the year
the following analysis of the distribution of death amongst infants of
different ages is of interest: The number of deaths amongst those under
the age of 7 days occurring in the months of January to April was 17;
in the months May to August, 16, and the period September to