London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hounslow 1966

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hounslow]

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pregnancy, delivery, and the pupils' early
childhood was retrospective in nature. Mothers'
memories can be extremely inaccurate and this
was proved so when facts that they had given me
independently were checked with available health
visitor or hospital records made at the time of the
event. A family history was also carefully
examined but frequently the only details obtained
were again from the child's parents and any
feeling of guilt or shame would naturally lead to
repression of the truth.
Of the 151 children whose histories were
known, ninety-seven were reported to have had
delay in their developmental milestones, that is,
they were not walking unaided or saying
recognisable words bv eighteen months.

Of the remaining fifty-four children whose milestones were said not to be delayed the distribution in social class was as follows—

Class I0
Class II3
Class III19
Class IV13
Class V19

Left handed children ie those who write with their
left hand
The number of these children in the school was
thirty-three in 1964 when the survey was started
but in January 1967 was only thirty. Of these
twenty were boys and ten girls. This is the normal
ratio that one gets because it is known that there
are more left handed boys, and more boys who
have reading difficulties.

Table 1

Home AddressBoysGirls
Hounslow5320
Richmond179
North Surrey3322
Ealing , ._2
children in care
Brent11
Total10454

Table 2

Social ClassNo of childrenExpected No of children
I33
II1115
III5757
IV3921
V4112
Not known (ie
children in care)7-
Total158108

The expected rate was calculated from the
proportional numbers given in the Registrar
General's statistical publications, and shows the
increased numbers of children belonging to
Social Classes IV and V.

Table 3

Additional Handicaps
Epilepsy4 (plus 11 with history of convulsions)
Cerebral Palsy5
Down's Syndrome2
Phenylketonuria1
Hypothyroid5
Hydrocephalic2
Microcephalic2