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 1920
Report for the year 1920 of the Medical Officer of Health
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The infantile death-rate per 1000 births for each of the Wards the Borough, London, and England and Wales is as follows:—
| WARD. | Rate per 1.000 births |
|---|---|
| No. 1 (Town) | 33 |
| No. 2 (Belsize) | 42 |
| No. 3 (Adelaide) | 37 |
| No. 4 (Central) | 53 |
| No. 5 (West End | 60 |
| No. 6 (Kilburn) | 48 |
| No. 7 (Priory) | 62 |
| London | 75 |
| England and Wales | 80 |
In considering these ward-rates the smallness of the figures concerned must be borne in mind, thus the actual number of infant deaths were as follows : —
| Town Ward | 7 |
| Belsize ,, | 9 |
| Adelaide ,, | 6 |
| Central ,, | 7 |
| West End ,, | 16 |
| Kilburn „ | 19 |
| Priory „ | 11 |
Mortality in the first four weeks of life.
In the following table is given an analysis of infantile mortality
from (a) certain selected causes, and (6) all causes, in the first four weeks
of life.
It wdl be noticed that deaths from Convulsions, Congenital Malformations,
Premature Birth, Atrophy, Debility, and Marasmus, during
the first four weeks of life, account for a large percentage of the total
deaths of children under one year of age ; and that about one half of
the total deaths from all causes, of children under one year of age occur
during the first four weeks of life.
The actual cause of death in these cases is often not clear, and
I incline to the opinion that it is through the Ante-Natal Clinic that we
must attack these causes of mortality. I wish the notification of birth
was extended to notification of death ; we might then get some information
of how great a part venereal disease plays under this heading.