[Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Bristol.

  • Bristol (England). Council.
Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Bristol. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/130 (page 2)
    Marriages (Rate: 15.15 per 1,000 population). Last year there was a fall in the marriage rate following ten years of successive increase. This year (1944) has brought a further decrease in the number of marriages resulting in the lowest rate since 1926. This tendency to lower rates might have been anticipated, having regard to the very high level of the marriage rate during the earlier war years due to marriages at an earlier age than the pre-war average. Births (Rate: 19.15 per 1,000 population). The above birth rate of 19.15 compares with a rate of 17.6 for England and Wales. The total number of births registered in the city was 8,366 (7,230 in 1943). This figure includes 1,204 (1,039 in 1943) cases not resident in the city, but on the other hand, the number of Bristol babies born outside the boundary was 605, giving a corrected figure of total Bristol births of 7,767. Of the total births registered in the city, 6,351 occurred in institutions, and of these 2,963 were at Southmead Hospital. Since Mortimer House was opened in July, 166 babies have been born there. Up to the time of its closing as a maternity annexe 249 babies had been born at Cedar Hall, which is outside the Bristol registration area. Stillbirths (Rate: 27.30 per 1,000 total births). There were 218 stillbirths registered. This is slightly above the number for the previous year, 209—which was a year of low record—but represents a lower proportion of the total births in a new record low rate of 27.30 compared with an average of 37 for the 17 years during which stillbirths have been registerable. The number of outside city cases, 61, exceeds last year’s figure of 49. Illegitimacy (Rate: 70.7 per 1,000 live births). There has been a further increase in illegitimate births, both in actual number and in percentage of the total births. There were 615 illegimate births within the city in 1944, a quarter of these being outside city cases, and 101 babies *of Bristol unmarried mothers were born outside the city, giving a-corrected total of 549 illegitimate births. In my report of last year I drew attention to the special circumstances of the enforced absence from home of the male partner preventing legitimisation by marriage which might account in part for the increased rate. It may be noted that the proportion of illegitimate babies born away from the residential settlement of their parents is twice that of the legitimate. Deaths (Rate: 10.99 per 1,000 population). The death rate for 1944, apart from the years 1934-35, is the lowest recorded and compares with a rate of 11.6 for England and Wales. In considering this fact it may also be borne in mind that the average age of the population has been considerably raised by the absence of the younger adult section with the longest expectation of life. The preparation of the areal comparability factor has not yet been resumed by the Registrar-General, and it is not possible therefore to compare exactly the local death rate with that for the whole country or with the mortality or other local areas. Natural Increase (Rate: 8.16 per 1,000 population). The increased number of births and the relatively low death rate during 1944 have combined to give the highest natural increase rate since 1921. Infant Mortality (Rate: 35 per 1,000 live births). The above rate constitutes a new low record; the previous best being 37 for the year 1942. There were 332 infant deaths in the city in 1944, but 70 non-residents must be deducted and six deaths of Bristol children outside the city included to correct the figure to the Registrar-General’s total of 268. The infant mortality rate amongst illegitimate babies was also a low record at 44 per 1,000 illegitimate live births, being 30 per cent, in excess of the rate for legitimate live births for the year. This is the third year in succession when the difference between the mortality rates for legitimate and illegitimate infants has been considerably ' reduced—an average difference of over 100% for many preceding years. Neo-Natal Deaths (Rate: 18.41 per 1,000 live births). Registrar-General’s figures for this age group are not available, but locally corrected figures show that 143—53% of the total deaths of infants under 1 year of age—occurred during the first month of life.