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
Kensington 1916
Annual report (abridged) of the Medical Officer of Health 1916
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Notification of Births.—Of the registered births 2,861 occurred in Kensington, and of this number 2,560, or 89 per cent., were notified to the Medical Officer of Health within 36 hours, or at most a few days of their occurrence. The total number of births notified, including still births which are not registerable, was 2,812. Details are given in the following Table:—
| Source of Notification. | Number of Births Notified. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Still Births. | Live Births. | Total Births. | |
| Midwives | 33 | 1,415 | 1,448 |
| Parents | 10 | 334 | 344 |
| Medical Practitioners | 26 | 687 | 713 |
| Other Persons | 6 | 124 | 130 |
| Births in the Borough | 75 | 2,560 | 2,635 |
| Institutions outside the Borough | 4 | 173 | 177 |
| Total | 79 | 2,733 | 2,812 |
Midwives.—Slightly over one half of the births were notified by midwives.
Births Notified by Midwives.
| Nature of Practice. | Number of Midwives. | Cases per Midwife. | Tola Cases. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Charlotte's Hospital | 3 permanent | 105—241 | 549 |
| 2 temporary | 27— 35 | Extern Department | |
| Kensington Maternity Association | 2 permanent | 41—101 | 192 |
| 2 temporary | 24— 26 | ||
| Kensal Gospel Mission | 2 | 15— 33 | 48 |
| Private practice | 3 | 133—148 | 418 |
| „ „ | 5 | 10— 60 | 143 |
| „ „ | 35 | 1— 9 | 98 |
| Total private practice | 43 | ... | 659 |
| Totals | 54 | ... | 1,448 |
Deaths.—The net deaths belonging to the borough numbered 2,337, and were equivalent to
a death rate of 15 - 4 per thousand, as compared with a death rate of 14 - 3 in the ten years 1901-10
(vide Appendix, Table I. and Table V. in previous reports). The mortality in the several wards
has already been shown in Table A. The principal causes of death in the several age periods of
life are set out in Table 111., Appendix.
Infantile Mortality.—The deaths among infants under the age of one year numbered 258,
the infantile mortality rate being equivalent to 85 deaths per 1,000 births. This figure is no less
than 7 per 1,000 below the lowest infantile death rate ever recorded in Kensington, namely 92 in
the year 1912. The steady reduction in the number of deaths in infants in each succeeding
quinquennium has been due to the work of the Council's Lady Health Visitors and to that of the
five voluntary schools for mothers and the baby clinic. The exaggerated fall in 1916 has been due
to the absence of hot weather and drought in the summer and early autumn months. The
following Table shows the mortality among infants in the different wards:—