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
Wandsworth 1901
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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56
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Infantile Mortality.
The following Table shows the number of deaths in each sub-district, the percentage to the total deaths, and the rate per 1,000 registered births, as well as the totals for the whole Borough.
| Sub-District. | No. of Deaths. | Percentage to total Deaths | Rate per 1,000 Births. | Rate per 1,000 Births in 1900 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | 170 | 22.1 | 130 | 144 |
| Putney | 65 | 20.7 | 120 | 139 |
| Streatham | 201 | 23.7 | 123 | 122 |
| Tooting | 115 | 43.7 | 196 | 177 |
| Wandsworth | 265 | 28.2 | 129 | 162 |
| Whole Borough | 816 | 26.07 | 133 | 143 |
The death-rate per 1,000 births in thus lowest in Putney
and highest in Tooting, the Tooting rate being much above the
rate for the whole Borough.
This high rate in Tooting was chiefly due to the number of
deaths from Diarrhoea and Developmental Diseases, these two
causes accounting for 57 out of 115, the total deaths under one
year of age.
The prevention of the former is a question which will always
remain a difficult one, as the causes of infantile Diarrhoea are as
much social as sanitary.
Early marriages, employment of mothers in laundries and
factories are questions with which a Sanitary Authority have no
power to deal, and these, combined with ignorance and neglect,
are the chief causes of digestive troubles in children.