Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1914
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number, were already markedly wasting'. Eleven per cent. of the
babies were under the age of one month at their first visits. By
far the larger number of babies, 53 per cent., are brought to the
centres between the ages of one and three months. Twelve per
cent. were over six months of age. The weights of the children
at birth were not always recorded. As far as they were known,
they are displayed in the annexed table.
Weights at
birth.
Penton
Street.
Radnor
Street.
St. John
Street.
Totals.
Under 4 lbs. 2 0 1 3
4-5 lbs. 5 4 8 17
5-6 lbs. 8 16 9 33
6-7 lbs. 16 33 33 82
7-8 lbs. 35 66 47 148
8-9 lbs. 21 53 46 120
9-10 lbs. 10 29 19 58
10-11 lbs. 2 7 8 17
11-12 lbs. 1 1 2 4
12-13 lbs. 0 1 1 2
Totals 100 210 174 484
The heaviest children weighed 12 lbs. 8 ozs. at birth. The
average gain in weight per week for babies in fairly good condition,
not wasting, not obviously diseased, and the children of
careful mothers, ranged from 3.1 ozs. to 5.2 ozs. The largest
average weekly gains were 8.5 ozs. and 10 ozs.
The fathers were mainly of the working class, and chiefly
carmen, porters, labourers, painters, packers, printers, costermongers,
street hawkers, warehousemen, horsekeepers, and taxidrivers.
Thirteen per cent. of the fathers were out of work,
twenty per cent. were engaged in casual employment.