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
Lewisham 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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18
An analysis of certain of the infant mortality figures in social
classes is given in he subjoined table :—
Table 9
| Social class | I | II | III | IV | V | Notclassifiable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia | - | 2 | 8 | 1 | - | 11 | |
| Diarrhoea | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| Congenital malformations | - | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | - | 17 |
| Immaturity | - | 7 | 16 | 2 | 4 | - | 29 |
| All infant deaths | 1 | 16 | 56 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 90 |
Premature births
The satisfactory reduction in the infant mortality rate in Lewisham
over the years has been, as table 11 shows, much more marked in the age
group of one month to 12 months than it has been in the age group of
birth to one month. The latter is called the neonatal period and the
infant mortality rate for that period is called the neonatal rate. It will
be seen from table 11 that whereas the neonatal rate has, over the last
20 or so years, fallen from just over the twenties to just under the
twenties, the rest of the first year rate has fallen from the twenties to
6 or 7, which, of course, is a much greater reduction. A more detailed
analysis of neonatal mortality, which has been given in tables in the
annual reports, indicates that there are certain factors which particularly
stand out in causing the deaths of young babies. One of these factors
is prematurity. Before the war over 40 percent of neonatal deaths
were ascribed to prematurity, but in the last three years the percentage
has decreased to 23—possibly in part due to better diagnosis
of other conditions.
A premature baby in the strict meaning of the language is a baby
which is born before the 40th week of gestation, but in medical practice
an easier definition is accepted, namely any child born after the 27th
week of pregnancy who weighs lbs. or less. The number of such
premature children born in relation to the total number of children
born (the premature birthrate) varies slightly, and the figures for the
last two years during which statistics have been kept show that while
the male rate went up slightly, the female rate, which was high in 1949,
approximated to the male rate in 1950 (table 10). It should be noted
that these figures are based on the notified births (i.e., births occurring
in the borough) as the proportion of prematures to registered births is
not known. It is highly likely however that it is substantially the same.