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 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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CAUSES OF. AND AGES AT, DEATH OF INFANTS UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE IN KENSINGTON DURING 1930.
| Causes of death. | Under 1 week. | 1—2 weeks. | 2—3 weeks. | 3—4 weeks. | Total 4 weeks. | 1—3 months. | 3-6 months. | 6—9 months. | 9—12 months. | Total infant deaths under 1 year. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Common infectious diseases (Whooping cough 4) (Diphtheria 2) (Measles 7) (Erysipelas 3) | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 2. Tuberculosis | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 5 |
| 3. Pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases | — | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 33 |
| 4. Enteritis | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 34 |
| 5. Complications of birth (Injury 5) (Atelectasis 4) | 9 | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | 9 |
| 6. Congenital malformation | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 16 |
| 7. Premature birth | 25 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 3 | — | — | — | 34 |
| 8. Atrophy, debility and marasmus | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | 2 | — | 21 |
| 9. Other diseases (Meningitis 2) (Convulsions 1) (Influenza 3) (Other conditions 3) | 2 | — | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Totals | 42 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 57 | 43 | 37 | 24 | 16 | 177 |
| Death-rate in each age period per 1,000 births | 16.3 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 22.1 | 16.7 | 14.3 | 9.3 | 6.2 | 69 |
| Percentage of total infant deaths occurring in each age period | 23.7 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 32.2 | 24.3 | 20.9 | 13.5 | 9.0 |
The Council have, with the assistance of the various voluntary organisations, provided a
satisfactory maternity and child welfare service and have never failed to adopt any report submitted
by myself in regard to developments of the service. Nevertheless, for some time I have been searching
my mind to find if there is any avenue along which the Borough Council could affect improvement
in the local infantile mortality rate which is generally above the average for London and England and
Wales. The problem caused me some anxiety in 1929 and it occurred to me that it might be well
to consult the general practitioners in the borough to ascertain whether they could offer any solution
to the question of this high death rate.
I asked permission to address a meeting of the North Kensington Medical Society and was
gratified to find that the members were most anxious to help in the matter. They appointed a
sub-committee for the purpose and there were frequent conferences between this sub-committee
and the officers of the Public Health Department.
After eighteen months of study, the doctors have published a report which appears as Appendix
II. of this annual report.