Questionable stats? (19th century stuff --Sorta OT)

Nightingale F. Introductory notes on lying-in institutions. London:
Longmans, Green, 1871:3
makes fascinating reading.

Nightingale sent questionnaires to institutions to try to ascertain the
"normal mortality rate" associated with childbirth. It would then be
possible to see if the rate at any particular institution was excessive. The
results were clear enough: "With all their defects, midwifery statistics
point to one truth, namely that there is a large amount of preventable
mortality in midwifery practice, and that, as a general rule, the mortality
is far, far greater in lying-in hospitals than among women lying-in at
home."9 Mortality rates could also be influenced by the age of the mother,
number of pregnancies, duration of labour, the general state of the place of
delivery and length of time kept in it, and such social factors as social
class, health, and stamina. It might be expected that women in workhouses,
because of their poverty and generally worse health, would have higher
mortality rates than women giving birth in regular midwifery institutions.
But this did not occur, and Nightingale concluded that the effect of the
institution on mortality rates, especially the presence of medical doctors
and students, was greater than that of social conditions.

Her figures for death from puerperal disease in 1867 is 1.6 in 1000 births.
The death rate was 5.1 per 1000 (births at home).

When she arrived at her hospital she found the rates to be 32 in 1000,
mostly caused by PF.

Nightingale was one of the earliest proponents of evidence based practice.

She is well worth reading up on.

Serenity

I expect he has interpreted the figure wrongly. (See my other message
below.)
This is likely to be 54 out of 1000 births resulted in death for the mother.
Of these 24 were caused by Puer fever.

S


read, "In 1857, 24 out of every 54 pregnancies in the U.S. resulted in
post-partum puerperal fever ... as a result o fpuerperal fever, 19 out
of every 54 pregnancies proved lethal to the mother.