London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hampstead 1918
Report for the year 1918 of the Medical Officer of Health
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44
In 1918 seven still births were notified, in addition to the live
births. In 647 cases the parents were visited, and 270 re-visits were
made; 155 visits were also paid in relation to ailments of children, etc.
Notifications in respect of the 799 births in the Borough were
received from the following sources:—150 from midwives, 487 from
parents or doctors, and 162 from nurses and others.
When the mother begins to get about, if the case is considered to
be one which would profit by attending at a Weighing Centre, she is
invited to bring her baby to be weighed. At the Centres, in addition
to the actual registering of the baby's weight, the opportunity of giving
advice is taken advantage of.
The following figures indicate the work done at the Weighing Centres during the year:—
| Weighing Centres. | No. of Hampstead infants weighed. | Total attendancesof all infants. whether Hampstead or not. | No. of deaths. | Rate per 1,000 infants attending. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town district | 69 | 665 | l | 14 |
| South Hampstead | 61 | 1,485 | 0 | — |
| West Hampstead | 58 | 598 | 1 | 17 |
| Kilburn district. | 263 | 2,685 | 5 | 19 |
| Totals | 451 | 5,433 | 7 | 15 |
As far as is possible, cases of illness among babies seen at the
Centres are referred to the family, or other, doctor ; or to a children's
hospital. Babies are not weighed until they are one month old. The
number of infants weighed, 451, is equivalent to 50 per cent, of the
nett births for the year.
Mortality Among Young Children.
Th following table shows the Infantile Mortality rate and the
Death rate among children under five years of age. The latter rate is
calculated upon a period of five years:—