[Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Northamptonshire County Council.

  • Northamptonshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1968
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Northamptonshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/104 (page 18)
    CARE OF MOTHERS (Section 22—National Health Service Act, 1946) 1. Notification of births The number of births notified, after adjustment for transferred notifications was : Live Births Stillbirths Total Domiciliary . 967 6 973 (16.0%) Hospital . *5,034 63 5,097 (84.0%) Total . 6,001 69 6,070(100%) including 155 babies delivered by domiciliary midwives in hospital. The proportion of babies born in hospital has risen by 21.6% since 1959. The relevant statistics for the period 1956-1968 are shown in the graph on page 20. 2. Premature infants (5| lbs. or less at birth, irrespective of the period of gestation) There were 428 premature live births, of which 30 were at home, 6 being transferred to hospital on or before the twenty-eighth day and 43 premature stillbirths, four of which were at home. The total number of premature births (471) shows an increase compared with 1967, when there were 420. Of the live births, 89.0% survived the neonatal period. 3. Deaths ascribed to pregnancy and childbirth Investigations were carried out into four cases where the cause of death was associated with pregnancy or childbirth. (a) Patient aged 23—died at home. Cause : Acute cardiac failure due to status asthmaticus associated with co-arctation of the aorta and pregnancy. (b) Patient aged 21—died at Kettering General Hospital. Cause : Congestive cardiac failure ; cor pulmonale ; thyrotoxicosis— recent spontaneous abortion. *(c) Patient aged 45—died at home. Cause : Pulmonary embolism ; thrombophlebitis of legs ; ten weeks pregnant. *(d) Patient aged 25—died at Northampton General Hospital. Cause : Bronchopneumonia ; quadriplegia ; eclampsia. * Included in the table of deaths as reported by the Registrar General on pages 84 and 85. In addition, a maternal death which occurred in a Birmingham hospital in 1966 and not previously notified, was reported by a Consultant Obstetrician and subsequently investigated. The cause of death in this case was pregnancy complicated by mild toxaemia. The patient was