TABLE XXV.-Births in selected year, infant deaths, infant mortality rate, and number and per cent of stillbirths, according to average number of persons per room.

The mortality in these groups must not be considered as caused solely by housing congestion. The families living in conditions of congestion were undoubtedly those with the lowest earnings and the lowest standards of living. Infants in these families were likely to be handicapped by other factors, discussed in the preceding sections of the report, such as artificial feeding or lack of care owing to the employment of the mother outside the home. All these factors must be kept in mind in considering the above rates.

Nativity and housing.

The babies of foreign-born mothers lived usually in more crowded quarters than the babies of native mothers. This condition was caused not so much by the fact that the foreign-born mother rented a smaller dwelling as by the fact that the family was larger. The four- and five-room dwellings were most common among both the nativity groups; but while 64 per cent of babies of native mothers lived in dwellings averaging less than one person to a room, only 38 per cent of the babies of foreign-born mothers had the advantage of similar housing conditions.

Housing in "unfavorable" area.

Practically all the poor housing in New Bedford was found in the "unfavorable" area-precincts 1, 2, 3, 13, and 17.1 The greatest congestion within the home also occurred in this section. While 57 per cent of the births outside this area occurred in families who lived under comfortable conditions, viz, with less than one person per room, only 37 per cent in this area were in families enjoying like conditions. Seventy-eight per cent of the births occurring in families with two or more 2 persons to a room were found in this area.

1 Wards and precincts according to ward and precinct lines existing at the time of the study.

ILLEGITIMACY.

Infants of unmarried mothers in the city of New Bedford were made the subject of a special study. The conditions under which they live differ from those of a normal family and, though the facts concerning them were not comparable to those concerning infants born in wedlock, the mortality rate and the social and economic conditions surrounding these children are of particular interest.

1

In the State of Massachusetts the certificate of birth contains no statement in regard to legitimacy. It is contrary to law to return any facts on a birth certificate about the father of a child of illegitimate birth unless both father and mother consent in writing. Not even the name of the father may be made a matter of record. Consequently the omission of the father's name in most cases indicates that the birth was illegitimate. The total of registered illegitimate births in New Bedford in the selected year was 104, exclusive of 3 foundlings for whom the facts could not be ascertained. The proportion of illegitimate in the total number of registered births was 2.9 per cent. This is a relatively low percentage compared with percentages for foreign countries. Little American material is available on this point.3

COMPARATIVE RATES FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES.

A compilation of returns of registered births filed in the statehouse at Boston shows the percentage of illegitimate to total registered births for the 12 Massachusetts cities with a population (in 1910) of 50,000 and over. New Bedford had the highest percentage of illegitimate births of any city except Boston. The figures quoted are for the year 1914.

The illegitimacy rate for New Bedford for 1914 was the same as for 1913.

1 In the course of securing information from the mother, several exceptions to this rule were found.

2 Statistique Internationale du Mouvement de la Population, 1901-1910.

A report entitled "Illegitimacy as a Child-Welfare Problem, Pt. 2: A Study of Original Records in the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts," is in course of preparation by the Children's Bureau.

SECURING OF DATA.

Complete schedules were obtained for 54 of the total of 104 illegitimate births in New Bedford, and for 9 more part of the information was secured, leaving 41 for whom no data could be obtained. The difficulty in securing schedules from the unmarried mothers was due in part to the large number of removals from town of mothers of this group.

INFANT MORTALITY RATE FOR INFANTS OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH.

Among the 63 births investigated 2 stillbirths and 18 deaths occurred; in 2 cases it was not reported whether the child survived the first year or not. The infant mortality rate for this group was therefore 305. If the entire group of 101 live births is compared with the 35 known deaths in this group as shown by death certificates, the infant mortality rate was even higher, 347. This rate was over two and a half times as high as the rate for infants of legitimate birth.

Several causes are responsible for the excessive mortality among infants of illegitimate birth. The mother often does not have proper care during pregnancy. After confinement she is in many cases obliged to seek employment to support herself and her child. Many unmarried mothers, in a desire for concealment, arrange to have the infant cared for away from home. Often the child is placed in a cheap boarding home or in an institution, where his chances of survival are diminished. In either case the infant is deprived of breast feeding and a mother's care.

CARE IN CONFINEMENT.

The care received by the unmarried mothers in confinement is shown in the following table:

Of the 63 infants of illegitimate birth for whom partial or complete schedules were obtained, 6 were stillborn or died in the first two weeks of life; of the remaining 57, 9 lived with both parents, 28 remained with the mothers, 2 were supported by the fathers in the fathers' parental homes, and 18 were placed in institutions, boarded

class were high, but the numbers were too small to admit of comparison by groups. The number of removals of these infants before the final disposition as reported above was made may have been a factor in the high mortality among them. There were 36 shifts made. involving 27 babies.

NATIONALITY.

Of the 63 infants for whom nationality data were obtained, 25, or two-fifths, were born to native mothers. Five each were born in the groups of Portuguese white, Portuguese Negro, and French Canadian; and the rest were born in the Polish, English, Irish, and German groups. The large proportion of native white among these mothers is noteworthy, since the percentage of native white among the mothers of legitimate births was only 28.

COURT ACTION.

The father of a child of illegitimate birth, after paternity has been established by a court, is liable under the law of Massachusetts in force since July, 1913, to pay confinement expenses and to "contribute reasonably to the support of the child during minority.' Court proceedings were begun in the cases of 16 of the 104 illegitimate births in this study. Five were not brought to trial because the defendant could not be found. In 9 of the remaining 11 cases some provision for the child was made. A very small percentage, then, received aid through court action. Many mothers, of course, do not resort to the court because of the publicity involved and so lose the opportunity of getting such aid as might enable them to keep their children with them.

AGE AND OCCUPATION OF MOTHER.

A classification by age and occupation of mother affords an indication of the special circumstances in which these children of illegitimate birth lived during their first year. In 44 per cent of the 63 cases of illegitimate birth for which information was secured, the mothers were extremely young-under 20; and in only about 16 per cent were the mothers over 30. In 35 cases, or 56 per cent, the mothers worked in cotton mills; in 8, in domestic service; and the mothers of the rest were employed in 13 other occupations. In 5 cases employment was not reported. Only 1 was reported to have had no gainful employment during the year before the child's birth. Ten mothers did not return to work the year after the birth of the infant. The father's occupation was determined in 52 of the cases scheduled; in 11 instances the father worked in the mills, in 2 cases the father did not work, and in the remaining cases various occupations were reported.

SECURING OF DATA.

Complete schedules were obtained for 54 of the total of 104 illegitimate births in New Bedford, and for 9 more part of the information was secured, leaving 41 for whom no data could be obtained. The difficulty in securing schedules from the unmarried mothers was due in part to the large number of removals from town of mothers of this group.

INFANT MORTALITY RATE FOR INFANTS OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH.

Among the 63 births investigated 2 stillbirths and 18 deaths occurred; in 2 cases it was not reported whether the child survived the first year or not. The infant mortality rate for this group was therefore 305. If the entire group of 101 live births is compared with the 35 known deaths in this group as shown by death certificates, the infant mortality rate was even higher, 347. This rate was over two and a half times as high as the rate for infants of legitimate birth.

Several causes are responsible for the excessive mortality among infants of illegitimate birth. The mother often does not have proper care during pregnancy. After confinement she is in many cases obliged to seek employment to support herself and her child. Many unmarried mothers, in a desire for concealment, arrange to have the infant cared for away from home. Often the child is placed in a cheap boarding home or in an institution, where his chances of survival are diminished. In either case the infant is deprived of breast feeding and a mother's care.

CARE IN CONFINEMENT.

The care received by the unmarried mothers in confinement is shown in the following table:

Of the 63 infants of illegitimate birth for whom partial or complete schedules were obtained, 6 were stillborn or died in the first two weeks of life; of the remaining 57, 9 lived with both parents, 28 remained with the mothers, 2 were supported by the fathers in the fathers' parental homes, and 18 were placed in institutions, boarded