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
Hackney 1907
Report on the sanitary condition of the Hackney District for the year 1907
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to say; but the proportion of deaths of infants brought into the
world in an immature state is so large—nearly one-fifth of the total
infant mortality—as to call for some strenuous effort to deal with it.
During the year 1907 an Act of Parliament was passed to
provide for the early notification of births. The intention of this
Act is that Medical Officers of Health shall receive the notification
of births within 36 hours of the birth taking place. It is also
intended that Local Authorities who adopt the Act—for it is an
Adoptive Act—shall carry out its object by giving advice and
instruction in infant hygiene and feeding to those who have charge
of infants.
The following are the infant death rates for the Borough of Hackney compared with the rates for all London during the years 1896-1907:—
| Year. | Hackney. | London. | Year. | Hackney. | London. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 157 | 146 | 1902 | 121 | 132 |
| 1897 | 127 | 147 | 1903 | 127 | 131 |
| 1898 | 161 | 152 | 1904 | 155 | 146 |
| 1899 | 153 | 166 | 1905 | 140 | 129 |
| 1900 | 158 | 158 | 1906 | 123 | 131 |
| 1901 | 135 | 148 | 1907 | 116 | 116 |
The following table gives the causes of deaths of infants under
one year old:—