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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MATERNAL MORTALITY.
Two deaths were ascribed to maternal causes, one due to
sepsis and one to other causes. The maternal mortality rate
was 2.39 per 1,000 total births, compared with 2.43 in the year
before, and a rate of 3.11 for the country as a whole.
The cause of death in each case was:—
(1) I. a. Shock following hæmorrhage from retained
placenta.
(2) I. a. Pulmonary embolism following puerperal
septicæmia (5th pregnancy).
The first death was in a primipara following a three
months abortion. She was suffering from influenza at the
time, and it is probable that this induced the abortion.
The second death followed a 5th pregnancy, and was
caused by a hæmolytic streptococcal infection. Labour was
uneventful and the patient received every care.
One other death occurred following childbirth, but was
occasioned by tuberculosis.
TABLE VII.
MATERNAL MORTALITY, 1924-37.
| Year | Death rate per thousand total births | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sepsis | Other causes | Total | |
| 1924 | _ | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| 1925 | — | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| 1926 | — | — | — |
| 1927 | — | 2.8 | 2-8 |
| 1928 | — | — | — |
| 1929 | 2.2 | — | 2.2 |
| 1930 | — | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 1931 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 4.7 |
| 1932 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 7.7 |
| 1933 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| 1934 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| 1935 | — | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| 1936 | 2.4 | — | 2.4 |
| 1937 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
Maternal deaths occurring within the area are enquired
into personally by the Medical Officer of Health and a confidential
report in each case is forwarded to the Maternal
Mortality Committee of the Ministry of Health in accordance
with the recommendation contained in the Committee's report
on Maternal Mortality.
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