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
Battersea 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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Maternal Deaths in Child-birth (Puerperal Sepsis and other Causes).
| 1927. | 1928. | 1929. | 1930. | 1931. | Mean 1927-31 | 1932. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths from Puerperal Sepsis | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3.0 | 2 |
| Deaths from other causes connected with child-birth | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 5.6 | 2 |
| Total Maternal Deaths connected with child-birth | 6 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 8.6 | 4 |
| Rate per 1,000 births— | |||||||
| Puerperal Sepsis | 0.36 | 1.09 | 0.76 | 1. 51 | 2.02 | 1.15 | 0.86 |
| Other Maternal deaths | 1.78 | 1.46 | 1.15 | 2.26 | 4.04 | 2.14 | 0.86 |
| Rate per 1,000 births all Maternal deaths in child-birth | 2.14 | 2.55 | 1.91 | 3.77 | 6.06 | 3.29 | 1.72 |
| Rate per 1,000 population- | |||||||
| Puerperal Sepsis | .006 | .018 | .012 | .025 | .031 | .018 | .013 |
| Other Maternal deaths | .030 | .024 | .019 | .037 | .063 | .035 | .013 |
| Rate per 1,000 population all Maternal deaths in childbirth | .036 | .042 | .031 | .062 | .094 | .043 | .026 |
There was, it will be noted from an examination of the above
Table, a satisfactory decrease in Maternal Mortality in Battersea in
1932. In accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of
Health, each of the 4 deaths of Battersea mothers was carefully
investigated and reports were submitted to the Ministry in connection
with the Departmental Committee which was set up in 1928
and which has presented two interim Reports. The final Report
had not been published at the end of the year.
The importance of the provision of facilities for the ante-natal
examination of expectant mothers cannot be over-estimated. In
Battersea in 1932 there were 2,319 births registered in the Borough.
Of these 2,319 births during the year, 1,180 of the mothers attended
the Ante-Natal Clinics of the Council and in the remainder of the
cases made other arrangements with their own doctors or midwives
or hospitals. The Maternal Mortality rates amongst the mothers
attending ante-natal Clinics are invariably found to be lower than
amongst those not attending such clinics.
Attention was drawn in the last Annual Report to the failure
of midwives practising in the Borough to avail themselves of the
facilities provided by the Council for this purpose. The new OutPatient
Department at the Borough Maternity Hospital is an
admirably equipped Ante-Natal Clinic to which Doctors or Midwives
can refer expectant mothers for examination and report by the
Consultant Specialist, who attends the clinic on three days weekly.
It is unnecessary to stress the vital importance of the subject, in
view of the interest aroused by the two interim Reports already
issued by the Departmental Committee set up to investigate the