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
Bethnal Green 1916
Report on the sanitary condition and vital statistics during the year 1916
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TABLE H.
| Principal Causes of infantile Deaths. | Totals. | Rate per thousand births. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | 1915 | 1916 | 1915 | |
| Diarrhœal Diseases | 70 | 106 | 20.37 | 30.1 |
| Premature birth, injury at birth, and congenital defects, including Atelectasis | 98 | 71 | 28.50 | 20.2 |
| Respiratory diseases | 73 | 90 | 21.33 | 25.6 |
| Wasting diseases | 28 | 31 | 8.14 | 8.8 |
| Convulsive diseases | 9 | 15 | 2.62 | 4.2 |
| Common infectious diseases | 29 | 57 | 8.44 | 16.2 |
| Suffocation | 14 | 9 | 4.07 | 2.5 |
| Tubercular diseases | 12 | 14 | 3.49 | 4.0 |
SPECIAL CAUSES OF INFANTILE DEATHS.
A comparison of the causes of infantile mortality
in 1916 with those of the previous year shows a general
improvement, with the exception of deaths due to abnormal
births and suffocation. Premature birth, the main
factor in the first of these, admits of an explanation which
both our Health Visitors firmly support, namely, the
terror and worry caused to pregnant women by air raids.
The Visitors are also of opinion that many still births
(which are not registerable) are due to the same cause. I
am much concerned at the increase in the number of
deaths from over-laying, notwithstanding the efforts of
our Health Visitors, who, I know, both do their utmost
to encourage the provision of simple cradles. Out of