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
Willesden 1940
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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During 1940, 197 applicants for confinement in the Willesden Maternity Hospital were unable
to be booked for the reasons set out below:—
Table No. 2.—Applications for Booking Refused.
| No beds available | 153 |
| Not resident in Willesden | 44 |
| 197 |
Hospital Confinements.—During 1940,1,166 women were confined in the Willesden Maternity
Hospital. In addition to these, a number of Willesden mothers were confined in Institutions outside
Willesden, 197 births of Willesden residents being notified from such outside Institutions—44 from
Queen Charlotte's Hospital and smaller numbers from other Hospitals, 20 from a Nursing Home and
smaller numbers from other Nursing Homes. These, together with some 325 in the Central Middlesex
County Hospital, are approximately 70 per cent, of the births belonging to Willesden and show the
desire of the present-day mother for institutional confinement.
The following table shows the demand for institutional confinement :—
Table No. 3.
| Years. | Domiciliary Births attended by Midwives. | Domiciliary Births attended by Doctors. | Births in hospitals and nursing homes. | Total Births notified. (Note—Notified not registered.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 515 | 1,174 | 1,110 | 2,799 |
| 1932 | 457 | 997 | 1,220 | 2,674 |
| 1933 | 532 | 776 | 1,357 | 2,665 |
| 1934 | 610 | 680 | 1,436 | 2,726 |
| 1935 | 589 | 568 | 1,706 | 2,863 |
| 1936 | 646 | 516 | 1,745 | 2,907 |
| 1937 | 760 | 465 | 1,906 | 3,131 |
| 1938 | 710 | 394 | 1,974 | 3,078 |
| 1939 | 703 | 257 | 1,789 | 2,749 |
| 1940 | 521 | 129 | 1,640 | 2,290 |
A report on the Willesden Maternity Hospital by Mr. Arnold Walker, F.R.C.S., the Council's
Consultant Obstetrician, appears later in this report.
Ante-Natal Work for Institutions not under the Council.—Requests are received
from the Middlesex County Council and from various London Hospitals for home visits to expectant
mothers, and for special reports by the Council's Health Visitors in connection with women who are
to be confined in these Hospitals.
217 Expectant Mothers booked for confinement in the Central Middlesex County Hospital
were referred to the Willesden Health Centres for Ante-natal care.
Puerperal Pyrexia.—26 cases were notified during ,the year. All recovered.
Maternal Mortality.—During 1940 there were 5 deaths classed to pregnancy and childbearing—1
to Puerperal Sepsis, and 4 to other puerperal causes.
The puerperal mortality rate from Sepsis was, therefore, 0.42 per 1,000 registered total births.
The total puerperal mortality rate was 2.08 per 1,000 registered total births.
During 1940 there were, in addition, 2 maternal deaths from non-puerperal causes. There
was no maternal death from criminal abortion.
The total maternal mortality from all causes excluding criminal abortion, was thus 2.90 per
1,000 registered total births.
The total maternal mortality from all causes including criminal abortion was 2.90 per 1,000
registered total births.
Sterilised Accouchement Sets.—These sets are supplied in accordance with the arrangements
stated in my Annual Report for 1930, p. 10.
During 1940, 394 were supplied free, 4 at full cost and 131 at part cost.
Specialist Help.—The Council accept responsibility for the payment of the fee of one of
their specialists called in by a medical practitioner to assist him in connection with a difficult case
of labour occurring in a Willesden resident. One such consultation was paid for in 1940.
The services of the Council's Consultant Obstetrician are also available in cases of Puerperal
Fever and Puerperal Pyrexia when desired by the practitioner in attendance.