London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Greenwich 1913
The annual report made to the Council of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich for the year 1913
This page requires JavaScript
40
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The Infantile Mortality, measured by the deaths of children
under one year of age to the number of births registered, was 103
per 1,000 births, there having been a total of 263 such deaths
during the year, as compared with 310, 259 and 200, the figures
for the three preceding years. The number for the County of
London was 105 per 1,000 births, the average for the past five
years being 109 per 1,000 births. The average for the past five
years in Greenwich has been 109 per 1,000 births, the greater portion
of this increased fatality being due to the larger number of
deaths from Diarrhoea and Measles.
The following table gives the number and character of the
intimations respecting births in the Borough since the adoption
of the Notification of Births Act, 1907: —
NOTIFICATION OF BIRTHS ACT, 1907.
| 1909. | 1910. | 1911. | 1912. | 1913. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number of Births notified in each year since adoption | 1,228 | 2,663 | 2,553 | 2,450 | 2,623 |
| 642 | 1,282 | 1,412 | 1,340 | ||
| ,(b) Attended by Doctors .. | 586 | 1,365 | 1,271 | 1,038 | 1,283 |
| Number of Still Births notified in each year | 16 | 51 | 24 | 71 | 53 |
| Number of Births registered in each year ... | 2,492 | 2,457 | 2,381 | 2,393 | 2,545 |
As stated in the introduction to this report, the Council have
now decided to appoint a permanent Health Visitor, whose duty
it shall be to make the necessary visitation under the above Act,
and also to deal with the cases of Diarrhoea notified during the
summer months. I certainly think that this decision has not been
arrived at a moment too soon, for the amount of ignorance displayed
by many mothers respecting the care and nurture of young
children is certainly appalling. This fact, I think, was particularly
evident to the Public Health Committee when they considered a