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
Deptford 1914
Annual report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford
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Below is a comparative table giving particulars showing the relationship between the temperature, rainfall and diarrhoea mortality in the summer months:—
| No. of Week in Year. | Mean Weekly Temperature of Air. | Mean Weekly Temperature of Earth four feet below surface. | Rainfall. | Deaths from Diarrhoea and Enteritis. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913. | 1914. | 1913. | 1914. | 1913. | 1914. | 1913. | 1914. | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ins. | ins. | ||||
| 31 August | 59.5 | 59.5 | 59.73 | 61.78 | 0.00 | 0.88 | 2 | 4 |
| 32. | 57.1 | 64.0 | 60.24 | 61.80 | 0.09 | 0.02 | 3 | — |
| 33 | 60.7 | 62.1 | 60.10 | 62.19 | 0.14 | 0.01 | 3 | — |
| 34 .. | 60.9 | 64.4 | 60.58 | 62.48 | 0.36 | 0.17 | 8 | 1 |
| 35 September | 62.8 | 63.4 | 60.62 | 62.48 | 0.51 | 0.00 | 8 | 6 |
| 36 | 59.1 | 62.4 | 60.63 | 62.40 | 1.43 | 0.47 | 5 | 9 |
| 37 | 58.0 | 57.1 | 59.96 | 61.14 | 0.06 | 0.14 | 8 | 9 |
| 38 | 54.9 | 52.5 | 59.03 | 58.87 | 0.60 | 0.12 | 4 | 3 |
| 39 October | 60.2 | 53.8 | 58.46 | 57.34 | 0.13 | 0.00 | 9 | 6 |
| 40 | 58.5 | 52.9 | 58.75 | 56.62 | 0.22 | 0.00 | 3 | — |
| Weekly Average .. | 59.2 | 59.2 | 59.81 | 60.71 | 0.35 | 0.18 | 5 | 4 |
Note.—The meteorological particulars in the above Table are the results of observations
taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
10. Industrial employment of many of our women in the borough
is probably one of the important influences at work, for it is obvious
that girls and young women who are employed in industrial work for
many hours daily have but little time to make themselves practically
familiar with the very numerous, and often apparently unimportant
matters, which make all the difference between a well-ordered home and
one which lacks the influence of a capable mother.
Nevertheless, to what extent and in what manner the industrial
employment of married women affects the infantile mortality is still a
matter of discussion. Under present social conditions, the harmful
effects are partly counteracted by the greater comfort and increased
nourishment which such employment enables the mother to secure.
The mortality from prematurity and congenital defects is higher in
the East Ward of Deptford than in the remainder of the Borough and
greater than the average of some other large towns. One reason
why diarrhceal diseases are excessive in the locality mentioned
above may partly be put down to artificial feeding but the disadvantages
of artificial feeding are further accentuated by the absence of
the mother from the home, and by carelessness and ignorance and
lack of cleanliness in the preparation of the food. It is impossible,