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
Merton and Morden 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
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those births which are registered outside the district are not
available to enable allocation by wards to be made. From
the notifications of births and the records of births registered
in the district information is available in respect of 790 live
and 22 stillbirths, a total of 812 which took place during
the year. This number is only slightly less than the total
registered births, and hence is sufficiently accurate for comparative
purposes. The distribution of these births was as
follows:—
BIRTHS, 1937—DISTRIBUTION BY WARDS.
| Wards | Live Births | Still Births | Total Births | Birth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey | 48 | 48 | 11.0 | |
| Bushey Mead | 115 | 7 | 122 | 15.1 |
| Central | 114 | 1 | 116 | 14.8 |
| Morden | 76 | 6 | 82 | 16.9 |
| Park | 92 | 2 | 94 | 9.3 |
| Ravensbury | 93 | 1 | 94 | 12.4 |
| Raynes Park | 64 | 1 | 65 | 9.7 |
| St. Helier | 114 | 8 | 117 | 9.8 |
| West Barnes | 74 | 1 | 75 | 11.2 |
Institutional and Domiciliary Births. A high proportion
of the births took place in hospitals and maternity homes,
and this tendency is increasing year by year. In the two
wards which comprise the St. Helier Estate rather more than
two-thirds of the total were domiciliary births, while in the
rest of the district less than half took place in private
dwellings.
Of the 812 total births (live and still) which occurred
in the year, 448 took place in hospitals, nursing homes, etc.
This represents 55% of the total, which is 4% higher than in 1936. They took place in the following institutions:—
| Nelson Hospital | 207 |
| Kingston County Hospital | 91 |
| Other hospitals, institutions, and nursing homes | 150 |
| 448 |