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
Kensington 1925
The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1925
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In considering this point, it is necessary to mention that the Registrar-General regards domestic
servants as resident in their employer's house and births of children to unmarried female domestic
servants, together with the deaths of these children, are allocated by that officer to the area in which
the employer's home address is situated.
The proportion of female domestic servants differs enormously in different parts of London
and in connection with the question now being considered the figures in the 1921 Census are
illuminating. They show that in Kensington the proportion of indoor female domestic servants
per 1,000 of occupied females aged 12 and upwards is 514, this being the highest figure for London,
the lowest being Bethnal Green with 50, and the average for London being 223. There were at
the 1921 Census in Kensington between the ages of 15 and 45 years 35,382 single women as compared
with 19,516 married women. These figures show that a larger illegitimate birth rate might
be expected in Kensington than in most other Boroughs because the population is so largely
made up of single women.
Unquestionably a larger percentage of the population in the better class Wards is made up
of unmarried female domestic servants than in the other Wards and, therefore, a study of the
illegitimate births and deaths in the Borough might bring some explanation of the increased rate
in South Kensington.
lhe following table shows the number of illegitimate births occurring in the Borough during the last five years :—
| lhe following table shows the number of illegitimate births occurring in the Borough during the last five years :— | |
| 1921 | 308 |
| 1922 | 207 |
| 1923 | 205 |
| 1924 | 185 |
| 1925 | 198 |
This table shows that there were only thirteen more illegitimate births in 1925 than in 1924,
but the diminution of the total number of births in 1925 tends to increase the percentage of illegitimate
births in that year. Indeed, the illegitimate births in 1925 were 6.9%of the total as against
6.4%in the previous year.
Unfortunately, the deaths of illegitimate children show a much greater increase than the births
of this class of child, for in 1925 there were 42 such deaths as compared with 18 in 1924.
The following table compares the total infantile mortality rate for the Borough in recent years with the illegitimate infantile mortality rate:—
| Year | Deaths of all children under 1 year of age per 1,000 births. | Deaths of illegitimate children under 1 year of age per 1,000 illegitimate births. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911—1915 | 110 | 324 | |
| 1916 | 85 | 211 | |
| 1917 | 130 | 408 | |
| 1918 | 97 | 256 | |
| 1919 | 102 | 180 | |
| 1920 | 81 | 201 | |
| 1921 | 110 | 217 | |
| 1922 | 82 | 135 | |
| 1923 | 70 | 127 | |
| 1924 | 75 | 97 | |
| 1925 | 78 | 212 | |
The following table compares the legitimate and illegitimate births, infant deaths and infantile mortality rates in Kensington for 1925.
| Total. | Legitimate. | illegitimate. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Births | 2,846 | 2,648 | 198 | |
| Infant Deaths | 223 | 181 | 42 | |
| Rate per 1,000 births | 78 | 68 | 212 | |
The above table shows that there were 42 deaths of illegitimate infants out of a total of 223
deaths of all infants, thus, 18.8% of the total deaths were those of illegitimate children. This
figure in 1924 was 8.2%.