312 



THE TREND OF THE RACE 



mortality are higher for illegitimate than they are for legitimate 

 births. More extensive data on the proportion of stillbirths per 

 hundred births are afforded by the next table: 



Mortality of Infants According to Age of Mother 



Statistics from other localities show much the same trend 

 as those which have been presented. That stillbirths increase 

 in frequency as the fathers become older may be due not to the 

 age of the father but to the fact that the mothers' ages are corre- 

 lated with those of their husbands. Where the age of the mother 

 is eliminated the offspring of old fathers do not have a much 

 higher ratio of stillborn than those of younger men. There is also 

 an increase of deliveries requiring surgical help as the mothers 

 become older, exception being made again of first births. 



The eft'ect of the order of birth is here a compKcating factor. 

 First births, irrespective of parental age, show a large percent- 

 age of fatalities. This fact accounts for most of the high mor- 

 tality among the children of very young mothers. The following 

 table from Professor Gini is instructive in showing how the 

 percentage of stillbirths is affected by eliminating the effects of 

 order of birth: 



