Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Report on the health of the Borough of Bethnal Green during the year 1927
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while multiple pregnancies, fright, worry, placenta
prævia, were each given as causes in individual cases.
No information was obtained as to whether any mother
had had a positive Wassermann reaction.
A glaring sidelight upon the housing conditions
of the people is afforded by the statistics as to
accommodation in 43 of these cases:
| 1—2 | 2—3 | 3—4 | 4—5 | 5 and over |
| 16 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
In the last case referred to there were seven
persons in a single room. The prospects of a satisfactory
live birth, to say nothing of the child's after
life, in such conditions can surely be appreciated by
the most limited imagination.
It is also unsatisfactory to note that only six
mothers are shown as having attended the Council's
Maternity Clinic, although six other mothers attended
hospital ante-natal clinics. This points to the urgent
desirability of making better known to expectant
mothers the facilities open to them for getting sound
advice as to their condition, and as to the precautions
which need to be taken to ensure the safe birth of a
live and healthy child.
INFANTILE DIARRHŒA.
During the summer, with a view to securing
some control over any possible prevalence of the
disease, local medical practitioners were invited voluntarily
to report any cases of infantile diarrhæa which
came to their notice. Doubtless because a doctor is
not very often called in for this disease, only two
notices were received from private practitioners, but
I received information of thirty-six cases from the