H.—3l.

Table VIII—continued.

PART lI.—MAORI. The following table gives the Maori maternal mortality rate on the same lines as Table VI for Europeans. The reason for giving these returns separately is that up to the present a large majority of the Maoris are delivered by Native methods, which must be regarded as extremely crude, and the conditions under which the confinements are conducted in Maori whares preclude any possibility of carrying out asepsis efficiently. Now that the maternity benefits under the Social Security Act are available it may be expected that much better results will be obtained owing to the fact that more Maoris will enter hospitals, the cost of which in the past was quite beyond their means.

Table IX.—Showing the Maori Maternal Mortality by Causes for the Nine Years 1930-39.

42

& Number of j5 Deaths. a „ Reason given for Operation and "g „ „ „ woup Parity u Cause of Deaths of Mothers. s i § I I i I V Eclampsia— 1 para .. .. .. 5 2 1 Eclampsia. Not stated .. .. 11 1 Eclampsia. Total .. .. 6 3 2 VI Pre-eclamptic toxaemia— 1 para .. .. .. 7 6 1 Toxaomia complicated by placenta prsevia and post-partum hasmorrhago. 2 para .. .. .. 4 1 3 para .. .. .. 1 12 para .. .. .. 1 Total .. 13 7 1 VII Other conditions— Heart-disease (congenital)— 2 para .. .. .. 1 Tuberculosis— 1 para and 9 para .. 2 .. 1 Seven-month pregnancy and advanced tuberculosis. Subarachnoid haemorrhage— 5 para .. .. .. 1 Acute mania— 7 para .. .. .. 1 1 1 Six-month pregnancy. Only reason given : " Previous delivery by Cesarean Section " — 2 para .. .. .. 3 Total .. 8 1 2 Total cases .. .. 203 37 13

1930. 1931. 1932. 1933. 1934. 1935. 1936. 1937. 1938. 1939. Cause of Death. — ■ > No. Rate. No. Rato. No. Rate. No. Rate. No. Rate. No. Rate. No. Rate. No.| Rate. No. Rate. No.l Rate J _ I _ Puerperal sepsis following 5 2-35 5 2-16 5 1-82 7 2-37 3 1-01 7 2 15 6 1-65 4 1-01 6 1-62 3 0'73 childbirth Accidents of labour (hajmorr- 12 5-65 9 3-89 14 5-10 14 4-75 8 2-68 10 3-07 12 3-31 13 3-27 10 2-70 12 2-92 hage, thrombosis, phlegmasia, embolism, and following childbirth not otherwise defined) Toxaemia, albuminaria, and 1 0-36 1 0-34 .. .. 1 0-30 .. .. I 0-25 2 0-54 2 0-49 eclampsia Accidents of pregnancy .. 3 1-41 2 0-87 1 0-36 .. .. 4 1-34 3 0-92 .. .. 5 1-26 2 0-54 Total maternal causes 20 9-42 10 6-92 21 7-65 22 7'46 15 5-03 21 6-46 18 4-90 23 5-79 20 5-41 19 403~ (excluding septic abortion) Septio abortion .. 2 0-68 3 1 01 3 0 02 2 0-55 3 0-70 ~~ ~~(h49~ — . , ■ " ___