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
Erith 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Erith]
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The subjoined tables shows numbers of legitimate and illegitimate birth with mortality rates for the past 10 years.
| Year. | Number of Births of Illegitimate Children. | Total number of Births. | Bate of Illegitimate Births per 1,000 Births. | Number of Deaths of Illegitimate Children. | Mortality Rate of Illegitimate Infants per 1,000 Illegitimate Births. | Mortality Bate of Legitimate Children per 1,000 Legitimate Births. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Table IV shows the cause of deaths of children from
birth to 1 year of age.
Twenty deaths, that is 40 per cent., took place during
the first week of life, and 20, or 52 per cent., during
the first 4 weeks. Twenty-three deaths were duo to premature
birth, including congenital debility and malformation,
0 to pneumonia, and 5 to bronchitis.
B.— Sanitary circumstances of the District.
(1) Water Supply
This is obtained from the Metropolitan Water
Board; the water is very hard, but of good quality, and
the supply is ample.
(2) Drainage and Sewerage.
The main portion of the sewage of the district is
carried by a sewer which was completed and opened in
1898. This sewer consists of two portions, one taking
sewage from the low-lying areas and running from the
western boundary near Abbey Wood Eailway Station to
Erith, and the other draining the upper part of Belvedere
and Northumberland Heath. The first mentioned
portion is worked by the Shone Pneumatic System, ejectors
being situated about every half-mile throughout its
length, and worked by compressed air from the Outfall