MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE, SCOTLAND. (Hansard, 25 February 1942)

§ Mr. Groves

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the maternal mortality rate for Scotland for the years 1939, 1940 and

Counties.	Date of commencement of maternity services scheme.	Maternal mortality.	Maternal mortality.
1939.	1940.	1941. Provisional.
No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.	No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.	No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.
Aberdeen	16.1.40	12	4.4	8	3.1	9	3.5
Angus	—	7	6.4	5	4.4	12	9.5
Argyll	—	4	4.5	2	2.3	7	6.8
Ayr	1.3.39	11	2.8	18	4.5	17	3.8
Banff	5.11.39	3	3.2	2	2.3	8	8.2
Berwick	July, 1939	1	2.8	2	6.0	1	2.7
Bute	30.12.40	2	10.1	—	—	—	—
Caithness	15.3.39	6	14.3	1	2.2	3	5.5
Clackmannan	15.9.39	4	7.3	3	5.5	2	3.2
Dumfries	—	11	12.6	1	1.1	2	2.0
Dunbarton	—	6	4.3	10	7.1	3	1.9
East Lothian	15.5.39	2	2.5	2	2.3	7	7.5
Fife	16.9.39	17	5.2	16	4.8	23	6.4
Inverness	1.11.40	4	4.7	6	6.2	3	3.2
Kincardine^*	—	3	7.3	—	—	2	4.4
Kirkcudbright	16.7.40	3	5.9	—	—	2	3.2
Lanark	16.5.39	24	4.2	27	4.7	43	6.9
Midlothian	1.6.40	6	4.1	3	2.0	3	1.9
Moray and Nairn	25.5.40	2	2.3	5	6.1	8	7.4
Orkney	—	2	5.6	2	5.4	—	—
Peebles	1.7.40	—	—	1	5.7	1	4.7
Perth and Kinross.	15.5.39	5	4.2	4	3.1	5	3.4
Renfrew	1.2.40	9	4.6	9	4.3	12	5.8
Ross and Cromarty.	3.6.40	6	6.4	3	3.2	4	3.9
Roxburgh	1.1.41	1	1.6	2	3.1	2	3.3
Selkirk	—	1	3.6	3	10.9	—	—
Stirling	15.4.39	12	5.9	6	3.0	9	4.1
Sutherland	16.5.39	1	4.2	—	—	—	—
West Lothian	16.5.41	2	1.3	1	0.7	8	4.9
Wigtown	15.11.39	5	8.7	2	3.2	—	—
Zetland	—	—	—	3	10.6	3	10.3
^* A midwife service only has been in operation since 16.5.38.

218W

1941; what the maternal mortality rate was for these years for the areas in which the Maternity Services (Scotland) Act was in operation; and how that mortality rate compared with those areas in which that Act did not operate?

Mr. Johnston

In Scotland the maternal mortality rates per 1,000 live births for the years 1939, 1940 and 1941 were 4.5, 4.4 and 4.9 respectively. Schemes under the Maternity Services (Scotland) Act, 1937, are in operation in 40 out of the 55 local authority areas. The following table shows (1) the dates on which these 40 schemes came into operation, (2) the number of maternal deaths in each local authority area and (3) the maternal mortality rates per 1,000 live births.

219W

Large Burghs.	Date of commencement of maternity services scheme.	Maternal mortality.	Maternal mortality.
1939.	1940.	1941. Provisional.
No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.	No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.	No. of puerperal deaths.	Rate per 1,000 live births.
Aberdeen	1.11.41	4	1.3	6	2.1	7	2.4
Airdrie	1.1.40	2	3.3	5	8.8	5	8.2
Arbroath	2.10.39	1	3.8	18	10.5	3	8.8
Ayr	—	3	4.4	1	1.4	3	3.8
Clydebank	—	1	1.2	3	3.3	7	11.2
Coatbridge	15.1.40	12	12.0	5	4.9	2	2.0
Dumbarton	1.1.40	—	—	4	9.3	3	6.8
Dumfries	—	1	2.5	6	14.9	3	5.7
Dundee	—	13	4.6	3	3.5	13	4.6
Dunfermline	2.40	2	3.1	—	—	4	5.8
Edinburgh	—	38	5.2	24	3.5	21	3.0
Falkirk	Combined with Stirling County.	1	1.7	3	5.0	3	5.0
Glasgow^*	—	100	4.6	108	5.1	121	5.9
Greenock	15.8.40	11	6.7	9	5.6	6	4.0
Hamilton	15.7.39	4	4.7	7	8.0	5	5.7
Inverness	1.3.41	1	2.5	3	6.8	—	—
Kilmarnock	15.3.39	3	4.1	4	5.3	5	7.0
Kirkcaldy	—	2	2.6	5	7.3	3	4.2
Motherwell and Wishaw.	15.5.39	2	1.6	6	4.6	6	4.3
Paisley	1.8.40	8	4.7	14	8.0	12	6.4
Port Glasgow	Combined with Renfrew County.	1	2.0	2	3.9	3	5.9
Perth	1.3.39	4	7.1	3	5.5	4	6.2
Rutherglen	16.5.39	1	2.8	1	2.9	1	2.7
Stirling	16.4.40	3	6.8	—	—	—	—
^* A scheme is in operation under previously existing powers. This provides for the services of a certified midwife, a doctor and, where necessary, an obstetrician.