Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia.

  • Southern Rhodesia. Department of Health.
Date:
[1931]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/36 (page 5)
    European Maternal Mortality Rates, 1920-31. Southern Union of England Rhodesia. South Africa. and Wales. 1920-24 (average) . . ... 5.0 4.8 4.0 1925 . . 6.9 5.6 4.1 1926 . . 6.4 4.6 4.1 1927 . . 3.0 4.8 4.1 1928 . . 5.5 5.0 4.4 1929 . . 4.6 5.3 4.3 1930 . . 6.0 5.2 4.4 1931. . 5.1 Not available Not available It will be seen that the maternal mortality of Southern Rhodesia is nearly the same as that of the Union of South Africa. The type of population in the Colony is, however, different from that of the Union, a fact which is illustrated by the markedly lower infant mortality in Southern Rhodesia, and it is submitted that this Colony should be capable of producing a lower maternal death rate. The unsatisfactory state of the maternal death rate is further emphasised when it is compared with that of England and Wales. The average rate in Southern Rhodesia for the five years 1926-1930 was 5.1, while that of England and Wales was 4.3. It must be pointed out that the maternal mortality rate of England and Wales is regarded as far too high, and that Great Britain is straining every effort and sparing no expense in order to reduce it. Besides the loss of valuable lives of mothers which is involved in a high maternal mortality rate, there are further consequences of extreme gravity. (1) A high maternal death rate implies a high rate of illness in mothers during and after child-birth, some of which is long and debilitating in character. (2) The causes which bring about a high maternal mortality also contribute to an unnecessarily high proportion of still-births and to a high neo-natal mortality, i.e., to a large number of deaths of infants during the first few weeks of life. It must further be pointed out that it has been shown that many of the factors which cause the death of mothers in child-birth are avoidable, and that given suitable conditions this suffering and loss of life can be very greatly reduced. This fact is borne out by the following table. European Maternal Deaths, 1922-31. Cause of death. No. of deaths. Percentage. Puerperal sepsis . 18 33.96 Accidents of pregnancy. 13 24.53 Other accidents of child-birth . 9 16.98 Puerperal albuminuria . 6 11.32 Puerperal haemorrhage . 5 9.43 Other causes . 2 3.78 Total . 53 100.00 Much the largest factor in the causation of maternal deaths in Southern Rhodesia is puerperal sepsis, which during the last ten years has been responsible for one death in every three due to child-birth. Puerperal sepsis is an infection and is to a large extent a preventable condition. Accidents associated with pregnancy and child-birth also rank high. Many of these can be foreseen and avoided by ante-natal supervision. Albuminuria, which was responsible for 11 per cent, of the deaths, is a condition which lends itself to diagnosis and treatment in its early stages. Intensive study has been devoted to these problems throughout the world during recent years. Certain essential conclusions may be referred to here. (1) Ante-natal Care.—Many abnormalities occurring in connection with motherhood can be detected by a doctor during the period of pregnancy, although they may not be noticeable to the patient. Such abnormalities may be capable of early treatment and remedy, thus preventing dangerous trouble at a later