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
Paddington 1914
Report on the vital statistics and the work of the Public Health Department for the years 1914-18 (inclusive)
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deaths. TABLE 2. Percentages of Still-births to all Births Notified.
| 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borough | 2.95 | 2.60 | 2.51 | 3.10 | 4.00 |
| Queen's Park. | 2.00 | 2.96 | 252 | 2.79 | 2.22 |
| Harrow Road | 2.73 | 2.25 | 2.47 | 3.43 | 2.69 |
| Maida Vale. | 3.96 | 3.39 | 1.24 | 2.67 | 3.18 |
| Westbourne . | 2.28 | 3.15 | 3.67 | 3.47 | 6.72 |
| Church | 3.55 | 1.53 | 2.78 | 2.04 | 3.03 |
| Lancaster Gate, West | 5.00 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 3.33 | 5.55 |
| „ „ East | 2.00 | 3.51 | 2.44 | 6.06 | 3.12 |
| Hyde Park . | 1.68 | 2.78 | 0.83 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
The data on which the foregoing proportions are based cannot be accepted without
reservation. As regards notification generally there is no real system of transfer of certificates.
As the person notifying is not required to say whether the address at which the birth
takes place is or is not the permanent address of the parents, the interchange of notifications
can be effected only after systematic enquiry. As regards still-births there is no check upon
the numbers reported, such as that furnished by the registration of (live) births.
One other comparison is submitted, viz., the differences between the proportions of stillbirths
to legitimate and to illegitimate births. (See below.)
Still-Births. Percentages of Births Notified.
| 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | ||
| Legitimate | 2.95 | 2.60 | 2.51 | 3.10 | 4.00 | |
| Illegitimate | 6.06 | 7.81 | 3.93 | 2.97 | 9.86 |
For the whole period the notifications of legitimate births numbered 10,679, including
303 of still-births (2.8 per cent.), and those of illegitimate births, 467, including 29 of stillbirths
(6.2 per cent.).
Generally speaking the figures given above suggest an increase in frequency of stillbirths,
but it would be unwise to accept such suggestion without considerable reservation.
In spite of the serious defects in the Notification of Births Act 1907, there is no doubt that
notification is becoming more general in the Borough, and to that improvement must be
attributed some part at least of the increased proportion of still-births.
III.—DEATHS.
The total number of deaths registered within the Borough during 1914-18 was 10,116,
0.8 per cent, fewer than the total for 1909-13 (10,192). The annual averages were 2,038 in
the first quinquennium and 2,032 in the second. After correcting for deaths of non-residents
within the Borough and for those of residents occurring outside, the corrected totals become
—for 1909-13, 9,435, and for 1914-18, 10,360, showing an increase of 9.8 per cent. The
numbers recorded in each year are shown in Table I., Appendix, where will be found
the mortality rates, which, for the years 1916-18, are calculated on the estimated civil—not
total—population furnished by the Registrar-General.
In Table II., Appendix, the corrected total of deaths in each of the five years has been
distributed according to the Wards of residence of the deceased persons. For reasons
already fully set out, it has been decided that it is useless to give any Ward mortality rates.
Attention maybe directed to the annual averages given in that Table, and to the Index
Numbers. While the Index Number for the Borough is 110, lower Numbers were observed
in the following Wards:—Church (101), Harrow Road (106) and Queen's Park (109). The
reductions are somewhat unexpected, especially that in the first-named Ward. It may be
presumed that the drain of men and women was heavier in those Wards than in the others,
but at present no proof of that presumption can be offered.
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