BRITISH BIRTH RATE RISING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 17, 15 October 1919, Page 7

BRITISH BIRTH RATE RISING

MOP IN INFANT MORTALITY.. The British birth-rate is improving (states the London "Observer'). -Nearly lOOfl more babies were born iu July than in the same mondh last year. There were more births in June than in'iluy. and more in July duan in June, so the rate is quite plainly on tin; up-grade, tven so, it has a lou<; way to go. lor the births during the last quarter "were only about two-thirds of the number recorded in the same quarter of 19W. And more boys are being born than girls. At the office of thu RegistrarGeneral of Births and Deaths a representative of "The Observer" was told that the preponderance had been marked during the past (wo years. It has always been believed, of course, that more boys were born'after a war, and in i-lipbb days the old theory is being confirmed. At dho same time the death-rate is remarkably, low. , it is possible that tho influenza and pneumonia epidemics of the winter and spring had something lo do with id. . The death-rate usually goes itown after an epidemic ot any kind, and tho theory is that the weaklings are killed off, leaving the more sturdy' peoplo to carry on. , . But, apart from this, is the fact thai the present year has seen a notable decrease in infantile mortality. Not only are more babies being born, but inert of them are surviving the perils of infancy. There are many theories to account for this, but the most popular seems to be that there is some relation between dhe temperature of the earth and tho infantile morality rate. The temperature of.the atmosphero does not seem to havo any effect on it, but observers have noticed that directly tho temperature of the earth rises more ~,Mins ot babies are record*.?. _ The people whoso business it is to collect the,figures of births and detidhs uro riot concerned with prophecy. They expected the present increase in the birth-rate and Obey expect it to continue and to, improve, but that is as far as they will go. The figures show that, at present some of dho tremendous wastage or war is being made good, Tho return of the men who have been serving far way is likely to have si ill further effect in the same direction, but nothing can be laid'down aboud it Or stated as a dogma. . . ~ , In particular it is to be noted that too much attention must nod be paid to tho weekly returns of births which are issued from the Registrar-General's office. Those returns only doal with births which are registered, and as registration can, bo made at any time within forty-two days after birth, id is very oiteu put '.ft, for one reason'or another, and especially at holiday times. Tho occurrence of a Link holiday in a week, for instance, will often cause an amazing variation in the wcorded number of births. •■