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
Deptford 1928
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford, Metropolitan Borough of]
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92
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
Summary of Work of Health Visitors.
The work done by the health visitors is summarised in the following Table:—
| 1st visits | Re-visits | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Births | 1810 | 5585 | 7395 |
| Still Births | 44 | — | 44 |
| Infant Deaths under 1 year | 109 | — | 109 |
| Infant Deaths, 1 to 5 years | 57 | — | 57 |
| Expectant Mothers | 587 | 210 | 797 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 19 | 29 | 48 |
| Measles | 2195 | 1649 | 3844 |
| Infantile Diarrhœa | 108 | 62 | 170 |
| Scabies in Children | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Verminous Children | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Puerperal Fever | 9 | — | 9 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 5 | — | 5 |
| Pneumonia | 46 | 56 | 102 |
| Miscellaneous | 437 | 42 | 479 |
| Unsuccessful visits | 632 | 466 | 1098 |
| Scarlet Fever recoveries | 205 | 33 | 238 |
| Encephalitis lethargica | 1 | 8 | 9 |
| Poliomyelitis | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Erysipelas | 3 | — | 3 |
| Diphtheria | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cerebrospinal meningitis | 2 | — | 2 |
| Visits to-families in flooded area | 73 | — | 73 |
| Totals | 6,357 | 8,147 | 14,504 |
In addition to the above visits, the Health Visitors spent in all 572
afternoons at sessions of the Infant Welfare Centres and 51 mornings
at sessions of the Ante-Natal Clinic; 34 attendances were also made at
Dental Clinics, 37 at Schick test and inoculation sessions, and 19 to
Light Treatment sessions.
213 "Test Feeds" were conducted at the Town Hall.
Feeding.—In the 1,810 births visited it was found that 1,654
infants were being breast fed and 63 partly breast fed. Only 93 were
entirelv hand fed.
| Ward. | Births Notified, | Alive. | Dead. | By whom Notified. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total. | Male. | Female. | Parent. | Doctor. | Midwife | Other Person. | |||
| Canterbury | 140 | 76 | 64 | 137 | 3 | 8 | 45 | 87 | - |
| Clifton | 114 | 56 | 58 | 111 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 81 | 2 |
| Deptford Park | 98 | 49 | 49 | 96 | 2 | 2 | 48 | 48 | — |
| Evelyn | 149 | 72 | 77 | 146 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 96 | 1 |
| Hatcham | 81 | 40 | 41 | 80 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 53 | — |
| Pepys | 67 | 36 | 31 | 63 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 27 | — |
| St. Catherine's | 48 | 24 | 24 | 47 | 1 | 10 | 18 | 20 | — |
| St. John's | 83 | 45 | 38 | 83 | — | 5 | 16 | 62 | — |
| St. Paul's | 243 | 126 | 117 | 239 | 4 | 6 | 29 | 208 | — |
| St. Peter's | 337 | 180 | 157 | 334 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 315 | 1 |
| Town Hall | 80 | 40 | 40 | 78 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 51 | — |
| Vale | 144 | 79 | 65 | 142 | 2 | 5 | 41 | 96 | 2 |
| 1584 | 823 | 761 | 1556 | 28 | 79 | 355 | 1144 | 6 | |