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
Deptford 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford Borough]
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4
VITAL STATISTICS
The following are the main vital statistics for 1949, together with comparative
figures for London and for the previous year.
The estimated civil population for mid-1949 shows an increase of 700
over the estimate for 1949.
It will be noted that although the birth rates and death rates are slightly
better for Deptford than for London as a whole, the birth rate shows a
steady decline from the peak of 25.4 in 1947 and that there is an increase
in the death rate.
The infantile mortality rate is increased but the figure must be treated
with reserve where a single death makes an appreciable difference to the
rate. In spite of the increase, the infantile mortality rate of 29 compares
favourably with the rate of 56 which was the average for the 10 years before
the war.
The table setting out the causes of deaths will be found in the Appendix, Table I.
| 1949 | 1948 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deptford | London | Deptford | London | |||||
| Birth rate (per 1,000 living) | 18.8 | 18.5 | 20.6 | 20.1 | ||||
| Still births (ditto) | 0.34 | 0.37 | 0.62 | 0.49 | ||||
| Death rate (ditto) | 12.1 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.6 | ||||
| Infantile mortality rate (deaths under 1 year per 1,000 live births) | 29 | 29 | 22 | 31 | ||||
| 1949 | 1948 | |||||||
| Live births registered (adjusted for inward and outward transfers) | Legitimate | 1,372 | 1,482 | |||||
| Illegitimate | 61 | 80 | ||||||
| Total | 1,433 | 1,562 | ||||||
| Still births registered | Legitimate | 25 | 46 | |||||
| Illegitimate | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 26 | 47 | ||||||
| Infant deaths (under 1 year) | Legitimate | 38 | 32 | |||||
| Illegitimate | 4 | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 42 | 34 | ||||||
| Total deaths (adjusted for inward and outward transfers) | 925 | 878 | ||||||