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
Fulham 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham Borough]
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The following table shows the births, infantile mortality and death rates during the last two years for the various wards in the Borough:— TABLE 1.
| Wards. | Births. | Birth Rates. | Infantile Deaths. | Infantile Mortality Rates. | General Death Rates. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 1937 | 1938 | 1937 | 1938 | 1937 | 1938 | 1937 | 1938 | 1937 | |
| Baron's Court | 195 | 177 | 14.8 | 12.5 | 12 | 10 | 62 | 56 | 12.5 | 14.0 |
| Lillie | 298 | 331 | 14.1 | 15.8 | 20 | 20 | 67 | 60 | 12.1 | 12.9 |
| Walham | 210 | 238 | 16.0 | 18.0 | 11 | 16 | 52 | 67 | 11 .9 | 13.9 |
| Margravine | 226 | 217 | 14.7 | 13.9 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 69 | 9.8 | 13.1 |
| Munster | 407 | 362 | 12.9 | 11.4 | 19 | 20 | 47 | 55 | 11.2 | 12.8 |
| Hurlingham | 112 | 95 | 13.7 | 11.4 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 31 | 12.6 | 11.8 |
| Sands End | 303 | 314 | 13.8 | 14.1 | 13 | 17 | 43 | 54 | 10.3 | 12.6 |
| Town | 207 | 199 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 10 | 8 | 48 | 40 | 14.8 | 13.9 |
| BOROUGH | 1,958 | 1,933 | 14.2 | 13.9 | 99 | 109 | 51 | 56 | 11.6 | 13.1 |
The principal causes of infantile mortality were as follows:—
Prematurity 25 deaths compared with 31 in 1937.
Pneumonia (all forms) 12 deaths compared with 13 in 1937.
Diarrhoea and Enteritis 21 deaths compared with 29 in 1937.
Thirty-nine deaths (39.4 per cent. of all deaths under one year of age) occurred in infants under
four weeks of age as compared with 36.7 per cent. in 1937 and 40.4 per cent. in 1936.
MATERNAL MORTALITY
The Maternal Mortality rate of 0.49 per 1,000 total births compares with a rate for England
and Wales of 2.97. This rate is usually low in London and the South compared with the country as
a whole.
The one maternal death occurred on 31st July and was of the wife of a van driver, aged 31 years,
who was removed to a fever hospital two days after confinement in a nursing home in the Borough.
The particulars on the death certificate were:—
1. (a) Septicaemia (streptococcal).
(b) Uterine sepsis (post partum).
Certified after P.M.
This maternal mortality rate is noteworthy as being the lowest ever recorded in the history of
the Borough.