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13
INFANT MORTALITY
During the year, the deaths of fifteen infants under the age of
one year were recorded, representing a death rate of 19.1 per 1,000 live
births, as compared with 20.3 and 23.2 in 1952 and 1951 respectively.
The infant mortality rates during 1953 for England and Wales, and London
were 26.8 and 24.8 respectively. Seventy-three per cent, of the deaths
of Chelsea infants occurred under four weeks of age. Deaths were
attributed to :-
Males
Females
Asphyxia - 1
Atelectasis 1 -
Gastro-enteritis 1 -
Inattention at birth 1 1
Intracranial haemorrhage 1 -
Malformations, Congenital 2 -
Pneumonia 1 2
Prematurity 2 2
Once again it is pleasing to indicate that the death rate of
infants under one year of age has decreased, but it is far more satisfactory
to observe to what a remarkable extent the actual number of deaths in this
particular age group has fallen during the past fifty-three years, as will
be appreciated from the following summary:-
Year
Number of
deaths
1900 333
1910 141
1920 73
1930 32
1940 15
1950 21
1951 19
1952 16
1953 15
In considering the above figures it must be borne in mind that only
428 births of local residents were registered in 1940, which accounts
for the low proportion of deaths under one year of age.