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Rate per 1,000 births: Legitimate 70.3; Illegitimate 125.0.
Analysis of this total number of deaths reveals the striking
fact that out of 358 deaths, 145 or 40.5% occurred in infants
under one month of age, death being due to prematurity, congenital
debility or malformation in most instances. This percentage
remains fairly constant, and it is due to the large numbers
of neonatal deaths that the infant mortality rate is even as high
as 71 per 1,000.
Of the total number of deaths under one month, viz. 145, no
fewer than 40 occurred within 24 hours of birth, and 42 under 1
week, i.e. 82 deaths occurred within the first week of life from
the following causes:—
Prematurity, 40 (21 under 24 hours).
Asthenia, 3.
Congenital defects and deformities, 27 (14 under 24 hours).
Result of disease of pregnancy or difficult labour, 8.
Acquired Infections, e.g., Pneumonia 3; Enteritis 1.
Totat, 82.
In very few cases is there any apparent reason for the premature
labour; the majority of these mothers have received antenatal
supervision. The average period of pregnancy in such cases is
28—30 weeks. Twenty-seven of these mothers were delivered in
hospital, so that, presumably, these premature infants received
every necessary care and attention. Again the question arises
as to whether the very widespread use of abortifacient drugs in
the early months of pregnancy may not be one of the important
contributory factors in this production of premature labours and
in the birth of weakly infants.
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