H—3l

Table 4—Infant Mortality in New Zealand, 1939-48 (Per 1,000 Live Births)

The marked increase in the number of births during the past several years brought serious problems of accommodation and staffing. That the still-birth rate, the neo-natal death-rate, and the maternal-mortality rate have all reached new low levels in the past few years reflects great credit on the medical and nursing professions and on the controlling authorities of institutions, both public and private. Still-births.—A still-born child is defined as one " which has issued from its mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy, and which was not alive at the time of such issue." Compulsory registration of still-births was, for the European section of the community, introduced in 1913. Maori still-births do not require to be registered. The still-births registered in 1948 numbered 831, giving a rate of 18-46 per I,ooo' total births; in 1947 the number was 911 and the rate 19-92. These are the only occasions on which the rate has fallen below 20 per 1,000 total births. The following table shows, for the years 1942-48, the rates per 1,000 total births for still-births and neo-natal deaths :

Table 5—Rates for Still-births and Deaths of Infants Under One Month, 1942-48: Rates Per 1,000 Total Births

Maternal Mortality.—For Europeans the maternal-mortality rate, including deaths' from septic abortion, was 1-26 per 1,000 live births (I*o7 in 1947). Excluding septic abortion, the rate was I*o6 (o*Bs in 1947).

6

IS j Year. Under One Day. One Day and Under One Week. One Week and Under Two Weeks. Two Weeks and Under One Month. Total Under One Month. One Month and Under Twelve Months. Total Under Twelve Months. 1939 11-18 10-44 3-16 7-29 32-07 82-85 114-92 1940 7-50 11 02 2-82 2-57 23-91 63-31 87-22 1941 7-99 9-91 3-14 5-81 26-85 98-21 i 125-06 1942 5-54 6-70 3-00 4-16 19-40 78-52 97-92 1943 5-63 7-43 2-48 3-38 18-92 70-94 89-86 1944 5-32 5-99 3-33 4-66 19-30 82-96 102-26 1945 .. 8-40 9-90 4-31 3-44 26-05 62-88 88-93 1946 5-54 6- 75 3-64 2-42 18-35 56-27 74-62 1947 10-22 7-82 3-81 3-61 25-46 47-72 73-18 1948 10-69 11-30 3-83 3-03 28-85 47-82 76-67

(Europeans only) Year. Still-births. Under One Day. One Day and Under Two Days. Two Days and Under One Week. One Week and Under Two Weeks. Two Weeks and Under One Month. 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 25-85 26-25 23-23 22-84 21-75 19-92 18-46 7-54 8-16 8-40 8-24 8-04 7-87 6-53 2-50 3-53 2-50 2-43 2-90 2-89 2-86 5-16 5-59 5-35 5-30 4-84. 4-44 4-04 1-57 1-96 I 2-21 1-85 1-77 1-31 1-07 1-48 1-48 1-66 1-32 1-12. 1-20 0-98