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51
Births.
By the Public Health Act, 1936, all live births and stillbirths of seven
months and over must be notified to the Medical Officer of Health within
36 hours.
The number of live births notified under the above Act during 1939 was
1,677 (862 males and 815 females).
Of these, 72 (35 males and 37 females) took place in Ilford, the ordinary
place of residence of the parents being outside the district.
In addition, 563 notifications of birth (271 males and 292 females) which
took place outside the district, although the ordinary residence of the parents
is in Ilford, were transferred to this district.
During the year, 26 cases in which there was default in complying
with the requirements of the Act relating to the Notification of Births were
referred to the Town Clerk.
The percentage of live births occurring in Ilford, notified by the various
responsible persons, was as follows :—
By Medical Practitioners 13.00
By Certified Midwives 79.49
By Parents and Others 7.51
In addition, 59 stillbirths (37 males and 22 females) were notified. In
2 cases (both males) the parents resided outside the district.
The notifications of 7 stillbirths (2 males and 5 females) which took place
outside the district, although the ordinary residence of the parents is in Ilford,
were transferred to this district.
Infant Mortality.
The number of infants dying within the first year of life was 75, the total
number born being 2,212. The latter figure is supplied by the RegistrarGeneral
for calculating infant and maternal mortality rates. The infant
mortality or rate of deaths per 1,000 live births was, therefore, 33.9.
Neonatal Mortality.
The death-rate of infants under four weeks of age is known as the
Neonatal Mortality.
There were 57 deaths of infants under four weeks of age during 1939 and
the rate for the year was 25.8 per 1,000 live births.
The deaths of infants under one month increased from 50 during 1938 to
57 during 1939.
The following table gives the deaths of infants under one year of age,
classified according to age. It will be noticed that prematurity still causes
the greatest number of deaths.