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
Hampstead 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead, Metropolitan Borough of]
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birth-rate, and share between them the distinction of having the lowest
birth-rate ever recorded in Hampstead, but it is a point that should be
noted that 1912 only maintained a birth-rate equal to its predecessor by
the very large increase in the number of its illegitimate births, which,
as shown by the figures given above, was double that of 1911.
The highest birth-rate recorded in Hampstead was in the year
1878, when the rate was 24.5. Since then the rate has steadily
declined. In England and Wales there has also been a marked
reduction in the birth-rate, but the Hampstead figures show a greater
proportionate decline.
The following table shows the Ward and sex-distribution of the births, and the birth-rate for each Ward:—
| Ward. | Births. | Birth-rate per 1000 of the population. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females, | Total. | ||
| No. 1 (Town) | 92 | 91 | 183 | 13.0 |
| No. 2 (Belsize) | 106 | 82 | 188 | 13.6 |
| No. 3 (Adelaide) | 64 | 53 | 117 | 11.8 |
| No. 4 (Central) | 60 | 37 | 97 | 9.8 |
| No. 5 (West End) | 121 | 105 | 226 | 17.5 |
| No. 6 (Kilburn) | 175 | 178 | 353 | 23.5 |
| No. 7 (Priory) | 58 | 59 | 117 | 11.1 |
It will be seen, by comparing these figures with the death-rates in
each Ward as shown below, that in none of the Wards in 1912 is the
birth-rate actually lower than the death-rate. The birth-rate approaches
nearest the death-rate in 1912 in the Priory Ward, the difference in this
Ward being very slight.
In 1911 in the Adelaide Ward the birth-rate was actually lower
than the death-rate.
The Natural Increase of the population—i.e., the excess of births
over deaths—was 420 in 1912.