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From the above table it will be seen that 139, or 61 per cent.,
of these infant deaths occurred in the first three months of life,
a fact not without significance when the measures which are
being taken to combat infant mortality come under annual
revision.
The death-rate amongst illegitimate children during 1919
was 151 per 1,000 births, and was double the mortality rate of
legitimate infants.
Notification of Births Act.
The Notification of Births Act, 1907, was adopted in the
Borough, and came into operation in March, 1908. This useful
legislative measure was passed to provide for the early notification
of births to the Medical Officer of Health, and so to avoid
the delay which arose through the late registration of births.
The Act, which has now been in force for 12 years, provides
that the birth of every child shall be notified to the Medical
Officer of Health within 36 hours. The notification is "in
addition to and not in substitution for the requirements of any
Act relating to the registration of births," and applies to any
child born "after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy,
whether alive or dead." In case of default a penalty of twenty
shillings is provided.