London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
13
The number of illegitimate births in the year was 216 as against 241 in the previous year.
This is a satisfactory decrease, but what is still more satisfactory is the reduction in the illegitimate
infant deaths from 52 to 37. It is, however, unfortunate that whilst the infant death rate
generally is 84, that for illegitimate children is 171.
The following table compares the legitimate and illegitimate births, infant deaths and infantile mortality rates in Kensington for 1929:—
| Total. | Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Births | 2,544 | 2,328 | 216 |
| Infant deaths | 213 | 176 | 37 |
| Rate per 1,000 births | 84 | 76 | 171 |
Every effort is made at the infant welfare centres in the borough to convince mothers of the importance of breast feeding their infants; but, although 164 of the 213 infants who died were under six months of age, thirty-five only were being breast fed on falling ill. The following table shows the causes of death and the number of those dying who were on the breast at the date the fatal illness commenced.
| Cause of death. | No. died. | No. breast fed. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enteritis | 43 | 6 | |
| Premature birth | 43 | 3 | |
| Pneumonia and bronchitis | 34 | 14 | |
| Whooping cough | 21 | 5 | |
| Debility | 19 | — | |
| Tuberculosis | 3 | — | |
| Other causes | 50 | 7 | |
| 213 | 35 | ||
These figures show that more can be done in educating mothers in the correct feeding of
children. Without doubt, this lack of breast feeding is very largely responsible for the number
of deaths from enteritis.
Sixty of the deaths occurred in the first fortnight of life, during which period it is impossible
for the mother to attend the infant welfare centre, but of the remaining 153 deaths, in only
thirty-six instances had the mother taken the child to a centre.
Voluntary workers have concentrated their attention on bringing the infant welfare centres
and ante-natal clinics up to a high state of efficiency; they have been very successful, but these
institutions are not being used to the best advantage. Many of the mothers attending are women
who, from regular attendances over long periods and a careful study of the rules of health, can
well be left to take care of their children and be relied upon to seek medical aid when signs of
illness appear. We can afford to pay less attention to these and to concentrate our efforts in
inducing those mothers who are not so enlightened on matters of health and mothercraft to attend
the centres regularly with their infants.
ABOVE STANDARD DEATHS.
In almost every area there is a number of infant births and deaths occurring in those betterclass
homes where it is reasonable to assume that the children receive every care and all requisite
medical and nursing assistance. These are called "above standard" cases and, although it is
difficult to make certain that none is included under this heading in which the attention of a
woman health officer might prove beneficial, they are not generally visited because, in the first
place, the health officer may not be welcomed and, in the second place, she can occupy her time
more profitably in visiting homes in the poorer quarters.
In 1929 the "above standard" notified births numbered 480 and the deaths 18, giving an
infantile mortality rate of 37.
The 1,944 notified births and 195 deaths not "above standard" in 1929 give an infantile
mortality rate of 100.1