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Last year (1911) was the lowest then recorded, with a total
of 1,589 births, but in spite of the increase in the population,
the total number of births, and consequently the birth-rate,
as shown by the diagram on the opposite page, is steadily
diminishing, 1912 having the lowest birth-rate yet recorded.
It will be seen by the Infantile Mortality table that the deathrate
among infants is also steadily diminishing, and by the
adoption of the Notification of Births Act, with the consequent
measures, the Council has done a great deal to assist
this decline of deaths and to preserve the lives of those children
born, so that something is being accomplished to modify
the effect of this diminishing birth-rate. As I have remarked
before, this decline is common to all European countries,
thus showing that an advancing civilisation and a high birthrate
do not go together. There seems to be little doubt that
a greater proportion of the mothers living in urban areas are
unable to nurse their offspring themselves, so that one
wonders is there a corresponding decline in the fertility of
the urban mother, or is this steady decline in the birth-rate
due to other causes? In relation to this question it will be
interesting to see the Census return as to the ages of the
population, if these figures become available.
DEATHS.
The total number of deaths registered during 1912 was
954.
The total number of deaths registered for the district
apart from institutions, was 641.
These include deaths in:—
The Romford Infirmary 41
The London Hospital 23
The Essex County Asylum, Brentwood 21
The Children's Hospital, Great Ormond St. 3