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14
stead, to 151 in Bethnal Green, 153 in Poplar, and 167 in
Shoreditch. In England and Wales the rate of infantile
mortality was 128 per 1,000 deaths, and in the 76 large towns
it averaged 140 per 1,000.
Causes of Infantile Mortality.
The following tables give the causes of infantile deaths at
various periods under one year in the whole of the borough
and in the wards into which it is divided. Of the 692 deaths,
119 or 17 per cent. occurred in the first week of life and 189 or
27 per cent. in the first four weeks of life. In the second
month 12.5 per cent. and in the third 7.4 per cent. of the deaths
under one year occurred or 47 per cent. in the first three months
of life. In the second three months 20 per cent, during the
third three months 16.6 per cent., and during the last three
months 16.4 per cent. of all the first year deaths occurred.
More than half the deaths of infants in the first four weeks
of life were ascribed to premature birth or congenital defects
and the majority of the deaths at this age period are mainly
due to the ill-health or defective nutrition of the mother. Of
the deaths occurring after the first month, no less than 186 or
37 per cent. of all the deaths at the ages of one to eleven
months were due to diarrhæal diseases and it is to the enormous
diarrhæal mortality that the relatively high infantile death-rate
of Fulham is largely due, as the proportion of deaths under
one year from diarrhæal diseases was 38 per 1,000 compared
with 26 per 1,000 in the County of London. As has been
frequently pointed out in these reports, nearly all these deaths
occur in hand-fed children, and a large proportion are undoubtedly
due to ignorance or carelessness.
The London County Council now forward every week a
list of the births attended by registered midwives in the
preceding week, amounting to about 40 per cent. of the total
numbe r, and these babies are visited by Mrs. Davies, the sanitary
inspector, who does what she can to secure the well-being of
the child and takes steps to remedy any insanitary conditions
discovered in their homes. The Borough Council has also issued
a leaflet on infant feeding, which is distributed by Mrs. Davies,
district visitors and others.