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9
Stillbirths. Apart from the loss of lives of young children, there is
the further loss of those who die before being born. In a number of these,
the foetus was alive up to the time of labour and a reduction in this loss
is largely dependent on an improved obstetrical practice, particularly
where the loss occurs at term. It would appear that the death of a
foetus at some time before term might be due to factors which are determined
by the mother's health or her nutritional state. The national food
policy during the war years might have been responsible for the reduction
in the stillbirth rate for this period.
In this district 69 still births were registered, being a rate of 1,000
population of 0-32, compared with the figure of 0-42 for the country as a
whole.
Deaths of Children of 1 to 5 Years of Age. 18 children survived
their first but did not reach their fifth birthday. Of these, 12 died
in their second year, one in the third, another in the fourth and four in
their fifth year. Infections of various types accounted for more than half
of the deaths in the second year, including one from measles and two from
tuberculosis.
Maternal Mortality. The total maternal mortality rate includes
all deaths of women primarily due to or associated with pregnancy or
childbirth, expressed as a rate per 1,000 live and still births registered
in the year. The rate for the country as a whole for the years 1911 to
1935 was about four. Since 1935 the rate has fallen and is now round
about two. The average number of lives lost in Harrow as the result of
pregnancy and childbirth for the years 1934 to 1939 was 12. From 1939
to 1945, the average was five, despite the average number of births for
this period being higher.
In 1948 there were two deaths only, this number giving a maternal
mortality rate of 0-6, compared with the figure of 1-0 for the country as a
whole. The first death was the result of toxaemia, which developed at
about the thirty-second week of pregnancy. The other death was the
result of a haemorrhage from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy occurring
during the fourth month of pregnancy.
Deaths from Accidents. There were 39 (25 male and 14 female)
deaths from accidents during the year. Of these 13 were amongst the
elderly (3 male and 10 female), many of them the result of a fall or a trip
which resulted in a fractured leg, death following then from hypostatic
pneumonia. Nine of the deaths, eight of them being amongst males,
were the result of road accidents of various kinds. Four men died from
poisoning, two being from coal gas. Two deaths were the result of drowning,
one of a boy of 16, the other of a woman of 82. None of the fatal
accidents occurred amongst small children, the youngest person who
died being a boy of 15.
According to figures published by the Royal Society for the Prevention
of Accidents, 6,000 fatal accidents occur every year in homes in England
and Wales. This amounts to almost one-third of the total fatal accidents
in this country from all causes including industrial, transport, mines, etc.
Not only has there been no diminution in the total number of fatal
domestic accidents in the last 10 years, but there has been an actual
increase in fatalities amongst young children under five years of age, and