Comments on births in Dublin, Ireland, in 1946

I retrieved a number of items from my parent's house relating to my father's training as a doctor in the 1940's. One of the items was his official record of attendance at births in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, dated 1946, which he would have completed as part of his required training before taking his examinations in Obstetrics.

There are 18 cases documented. The information given includes the age of the women, number of previous pregnancies and the occupation of the baby's father. The ages ranged from 22 to 43.The majority of the fathers were described as labourers, reflecting the social background of the catchment area for the Rotunda Hospital at that time. Other occupations noted were taxi drivers, a flour miller, a railway employee and a plumber. Only two out of the 18 had no occupation recorded , and one was recorded as unemployed. It was assumed that the woman would not have an occupation.

Multiple pregnancies were common. One woman aged 39 years was delivering her eleventh child, and half of the women had more than 5 children.

I was particularly interested to see that the birth weights of the babies were healthy. All were recorded as between 6lbs 11 oz. and 8 lbs in weight, with only two weighing below 7lbs.

As in the UK, rationing of butter, margarine, bread, flour and fuel for cooking was still enforced in 1946, and not lifted until 1949. A National Nutrition Survey in Ireland took place between 1946-1948 and interestingly found that most of the population were adequately fed, even in the cities, due to the strong influence of dairy farming. There was also a public health system in place for mothers during the 1940's ensuring free maternity care for all. These facts may explain, to some extent, the healthy birth weights.