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11
It is very pleasing to find a decline in the number of deaths in the first month of life.
This improvement is an indication that the concentration of effort on ante-natal work in recent
years is beginning to tell. Not only are the mothers being advised at ante-natal clinics in regard to
their own health during and after pregnancy, but they are receiving other instruction which is of great
importance to the welfare of the young baby. Through lectures and home visits by experienced
workers, the expectant working-class women of North Kensington are gradually acquiring that
knowledge in mothercraft which enables them to give the young infant its greatest prospect of life.
ABOVE STANDARD DEATHS.
In almost every area there is a number of infant births and deaths occurring in those betterclass
homes where it is reasonable to assume that the children receive every care and all
requisite medical and nursing assistance. These are called " above standard " cases and, although
it is difficult to make certain that none is included under this heading in which the attention of a
Woman Health Officer might prove beneficial, they are not generally visited because, in the first
place, the Health Officer may not be welcomed and, in the second place, she can occupy
her time more profitably in visiting homes in the poorer quarters.
In 1927 the "above standard" births numbered 449 and the deaths 18, giving an infantile
mortality rate of 40.
The 2,108 births and 158 deaths not " above standard " in 1927 give an infantile mortality
rate of 75.

ILLEGITIMATE INFANT DEATHS.
In 1927, 75 per cent. of the births in Kensington were illegitimate and 17.0 per cent. of the
infant deaths were of children of this class.