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20
year of age. The total births were 8491, therefore the infant
mortality rate was 122 per thousand births (compared with 128
for 1901), England and Wales 133, 76 Great Towns 145, County
of London 189.
The infant mortality rate is a valuable index of the
sanitary condition of a district.
Compared with other districts, Lewisham is in a most
satisfactory position. The rate referred to is the lowest in the
ten South Metropolitan Boroughs. Of the total 29 Metropolitan
Sanitary Districts four only have a lower rate, Hampstesd 87,
Marylebone 107, Stoke Newington 115, and Hackney 119. (See
Table 9).
In the three Divisions of the Borough the infant mortality
rates were Lee 72.7, Lewisham 142, and Sydenham and Forest
Hill 111 per 1,000 births.
An examination of the causes of death among infants
under one, shows that the following diseases were the most
fatal:—Whooping Cough, Epidemic Diarrhoea and Enteritis,
Convulsions, Enteritis, Gastritis and other Digestive diseases,
and Premature Birth. (See Table 11).
Zymotic Death Rate.—The Zymotic death rate is calculated
upon the total deaths occurring at all ages from the
principal infectious diseases, viz.:—Small Pox, Measles, Scarlet,
Typhus and Typhoid Fevers, Whooping Cough and Epidemic
Diarrhoea and Enteritis.
The Zymotic death rate is also a valuable test of the
sanitary condition of a district, and in this respect Lewisham
maintains a high position compared with other districts.