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 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The decline in the birth rate in Kensington since 1881, which is similar to that taking place throughout the country, is shown in the following table:—
| Period. | Birth-rate per 1,000 population. |
|---|---|
| 1881-1885 | 26.1 |
| 1886-1890 | 23.5 |
| 1891-1895 | 22.0 |
| 1896-1900 | 21.6 |
| 1901-1905 | 20.4 |
| 1906-1910 | 18.7 |
| 1911-1915 | 19.1 |
| 1916-1920 | 17.2 |
| 1921-1925 | 17.2 |
| 1926 | 15.1 |
| 1927 | 15.0 |
| 1923 | 14.3 |
| 1929 | 14.4 |
Notification of Births Act, 1907.—Parents are allowed a period of six weeks within
which to register the birth of a child, but the fulfilment of this duty is so frequently postponed
until the last few days of this period that the records of the registrars of births do not enable
public health authorities to gain that early knowledge of the birth of children in their districts
which is so essential to the success of the work of health visitors. This disadvantage arising from
delay in birth registration has been met by the Notification of Births Act, which requires all live
births and all still births occurring after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy to be notified within
thirty-six hours to the medical officer of health of the district in which they occur.
During the year, 2,544 births to Kensington mothers were registered, and of this number 2,424
or 95 per cent. were notified in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The number of
stillbirths notified was 65, and the number of births notified as having occurred in Kensington but
belonging to other districts was 54.
The following table indicates the source of notification and the kinds of births notified.
| Source of notification. | Number of births notified. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still births. | Live births. | Total births. | ||
| Number notified by midwives | 18 | 1,219 | 1,232 | |
| „ „ „ parents | — | 50 | 50 | |
| „ „ „ medical practitioners | 7 | 314 | 321 | |
| „ ,, „ other persons | 31 | 459 | 490 | |
| Births in the borough | 61 | 2,042 | 2,093 | |
| Notified from institutions outside the borough | 14 | 317 | 381 | |
| Totals | 65 | 2,359 | 2,424 | |
| Year. | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1925 | |
| 1926 | 96 |
| 1927 | 96 |
| 1928 | 94 |
| 1929 | 95 |
The importance of securing due compliance with the Notification of Births Act cannot be
over-estimated, for the information obtained constitutes the starting point of the work of health
visitors.