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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
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| Sex. | Age. | Cause of Death. |
|---|---|---|
| Male | Respiratory failure Broncho Pneumonia Acute Otitis Media | |
| Female | 6 days | Prematurity. |
| Maternal Toxaemia | ||
| Nephritis (Maternal) | ||
| Female | 12 hours | Prematurity. |
| Female | Newly-born | Asphyxia and Pulmonary Atelectasis due to inhalation of maternal secretions into air passages |
| Male | 5 days | Atelectasis |
| Male | 15 hours | Congenital Atelectasis |
| Female | 3 weeks | Meningitis Spina Bifida. |
| Male | Newly-born | Asphyxia due to inhalation of maternal secretions Inattention at birth |
| Female | 6 hours | Asphyxia. Atelectasis. Congenital patent inter auricular septum |
| Male | 8 days | Haemorrhagic Broncho Pneumonia |
| Male | 1 month | Pneumonia. |
| Female | 1 day | Prematurity. |
PREMATURE BABIES.
It will be seen from the appended tabular statement that
there were 37 premature babies notified during the year, as
compared with 38 for last year. It will be remembered that,
for the purposes of notification, a premature baby is one which
is 5½ lbs. or less and the midwife or doctor in attendance at the
birth is required to notify us of the birth. One of the effects of
this will undoubtedly be to form a more reliable estimate of
the extent to which prematurity is responsible for the infant
mortality. Of the 37 cases, 32 were born in hospital as against
22 out of the 38 last year. If this is indicative of a greater
tendency to refer these cases to hospital prior to the birth of the
baby it will be likely to result in a saving of many of these infant
lives because it is the transport of these to hospital after the
birth that has such an adverse effect on their chances of survival
and it has always seemed so much more sensible to transport
them in their natural habitat before birth than to go infinite
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