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73
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS.
The Registration of Births and Deaths Acts require births to be
registered within 42 days. The birth is registered with the local registrar
of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, by the father, mother, or relative,
occupier of the house, or other person present. This registration is quite
independent of the notification of the birth which must be made to the
Medical Officer of Health of the Welfare Authority within 36 hours by
the father if he is resident in the house at the time of the birth, or by any
person in attendance on the mother within 6 hours of birth. It is the
receipt of this notification which sets in motion the machinery for bringing
the child within the ambit of the authority's Child Welfare services.
Particulars of notifications of babies born in an area other than that of
the usual residence of the mother are transferred to the authority of the
area in which she resides.
The total number of live births registered during the year was 3,068,
1,599 male and 1,469 female.
Of these 179 were illegitimate, being a percentage of total births of
5.8.
1,918 births occurred in the district (1,884 live and 34 stillbirths). Of
this number 388 (385 live and 3 stillbirths) were to residents of other
districts. Of the local confinements 1,846 were notified by midwives and
62 by doctors or parents.
1,585 (1,524 live and 61 stillbirths) notifications were transferred from
other districts, being mostly of births occurring to Harrow mothers in
Middlesex County Council or London hospitals.
STILLBIRTHS.
53 male and 39 female stillbirths were registered, being a rate per
thousand population of 0.48 compared with the figure of 0.46 for the
country as a whole.
Of the 61 cases about which any particulars have been obtained
11 were dead before the onset of a premature labour. In 7 others the
baby was apparently alive at the onset of a premature labour. In 2
of these labour followed an ante-partum haemorrhage, in 3 there had been
some degree of toxaemia of pregnancy while in one case labour was
surgically induced.
In 4 instances death had occurred some time before the onset of
labour at full term. In 3 of these there was malformation and in one
hydramnios.
In most cases the infant was alive at the onset of labour at term.
In 11 cases there was definite difficulty in delivery arising from some
such condition as impacted shoulders, transverse presentation, small
pelvis, etc. Toxaemia was present in 3 cases, while in 12 there was
abnormal development (hydrocephalus, anencephaly, spina bifida or
monster). Prolapse of the cord or the cord round the neck was the
ascribed cause of death in 2 cases, and haemorrhage in two. In 4 cases,
though, no explanation for the occurrence of the death could be obtained.