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
London County Council 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The information under (a) showed that of 666 cases 356 still-born children were males, 305 were
females, in three cases the sex was not stated, and in two the sex could not be determined.
The following table shows the information under the headings (b) and (c) above.
| Condition of child. | Total cases. | Period of gestation. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall term. | 8 months. | 7 months. | 6 months. | Under 6 months. | Not stated. | ||
| Macerated | |||||||
| Not macerated | |||||||
| No statement | - | - | - | ||||
| Total | |||||||
The presentations were as follows:—
| Vertex | 406 |
| Complicated vertex | 41 |
| Breech | 94 |
| Complicated breech | 16 |
| Footling | 36 |
| Transverse | 7 |
| Face or brow | 2 |
| Funis | 16 |
| Placenta prævia | 1 |
| Born before arrival, and presentation not known | 38 |
| Presentation not stated | 9 |
| Total | 666 |
The following table shows the presentations of still-born infants of full term or
| Presentation, etc. | Full term. | 8 months' gestation. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macerated. | Not macerated. | Macerated. | Not macerated. | |
| Vertex | ||||
| Complicated vertex | ||||
| Breech | ||||
| Complicated breech | - | |||
| Footling | ||||
| Transverse | - | |||
| Face or brow | - | - | - | |
| Funis | - | |||
| Placenta prævia | - | - | - | |
| Born before arrival and presentation not known | ||||
| No statement | - | |||
From this table it will be seen that of 244 macerated infants of 8 or more months' gestation only
20 presented by breech while of the 197 unmacerated there were breech presentations in 53.
The following additional information concerning still-born infants was supplied in 51 cases.
| Infant, one of triplets | 1 |
| Infant, one of twins | 17 |
| Twin birth both still-born (5 instances) | 10 |
| Hydrocephalic head | 5 |
| Anacephalic head | 2 |
| Malformed head | 5 |
| White asphyxia | 1 |
| Cord broken before birth | 1 |
| Cord round neck | 4 |
| Spina bifida | 1 |
| Contracted pelvis | 1 |
| Illness of mother | 3 |
| 51 |