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5
Illegitimate Births
Although the percentage of illegitimate births, 11.2%, is very slightly less than
the 1962 figure, 11.5%, concern must continue to be felt than one baby in every nine
is born to an unmarried mother. Apart from the moral aspects, in many cases the
chances of the baby receiving a satisfactory upbringing must be reduced because of the
lack of a normal home environment.
Infantile Deaths
56 babies died before reaching their first birthday and of these 36 died in the
first week of life. This gives an infant mortality rate of 24.91 per 1,000 births,
compared with 22.84 for 1962 in Tottenham and 21.7 in England and Wales.
Causes of death immediately after birth are closely related to the causes of
stillbirth and these differ from causes arising later in the first year of life. For
comparative purposes the early deaths are linked with stillbirths are perinatal deaths
and the 1963 rate in Tottenham was 30.25 per 1,000 live and still births; for England
and Wales it was 30.8 in 1962. The mortality rate between 1 week and the first
birthday was 8.77 with the national rate 8.5 in 1962.
Maternal Deaths
There were 4 maternal deaths in 1963, which is an unusually high number. Three
of the deaths occurred in hospital and the home death was the result of haemorrhage
following a complicated pregnancy.
Lung Cancer and Chronic Bronchitis
Lung cancer and chronic bronchitis continue to be frequent causes of death; in
many cases preventible. In Tottenham 44% of the deaths from cancer of the lung and
over a quarter of the deaths from chronic bronchitis occurred in people under the age
of 65.