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Total number of Chelsea births registered in
the Borough 929
The notifications, therefore, formed 93 per cent. of the total births
of Chelsea residents registered in the Borough, as compared with 87 per
cent. in 1920. The number of births notified by midwives in 1921 was
57 per cent. of the total, as compared with 42 per cent. in 1920.
Illegitimate Births.
Total number of illegitimate births 49
Alive at end of year 39
Dead at end of year 6
Unaccounted for 4
Maternity and Child Welfare.
There were 83 deaths of infants under one year of age in Chelsea
in 1921, equivalent to an Infant Mortality Rate of 78.5 per 1,000
Births, as compared with 52 per 1,000 in 1920, which was the lowest
rate ever recorded in the Borough. In London, in 1921, the rate of
infant mortality was 80, and in England and Wales 83.
The number of births of Chelsea infants in outlying institutions in
1921 was 128, or 12.1 per cent. of the total births. This is the largest
percentage yet recorded, the previous highest percentage being 11.2 in
1919. The increased resort to Lying-in Hospitals and Homes has been
apparent since the first year of the War, 1914. The average percentage
for the 6 years preceding the war was only 5.5 per cent.The births in
the Chelsea Workhouse in 1921 were 46, or 4.4 per cent. of the total,
the average for the preceding 13 years being 4 per cent.
The following tabular statement gives an outline of the work carried
on in Chelsea during 1921, the visits being those paid by the trained
officers of the Borough Council (one whole-time Health Visitor, one parttime),
and of the Chelsea Health Society and School for Mothers (one
whole-time Health Visitor, one part-time), and does not include work
done by voluntary workers attached to the Society.