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 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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5
Notification of Births Act, 1907—During the year, 2,485 live births to Kensington mothers were
registered, and of this number 2,409 or 97 per cent, were notified in accordance with the requirements
of the Act. The number of stillbirths notified was 59, and the number of births notified as
having occurred in Kensington but belonging to other districts was 154.
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 | 19 | 1,082 | 1,101 | ||
| „ ,, „ parents | — | 61 | 61 | ||
| ,, „ „ medical practitioners | 8 | 341 | 349 | ||
| ,, „ „ other persons | 15 | 439 | 454 | ||
| Births in the borough | 42 | 1,923 | 1,965 | ||
| Notified from institutions outside the borough | 17 | 486 | 503 | ||
| Totals | 59 | 2,409 | 2,468 | ||
Percentage of births in Kensington notified during the past five years, in accordance with the
Notification of Births Act, 1907.
Year. Percentage.
1927 96
1928 94
1929 95
1930 97
1931 97
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.
DEATHS.
The number of deaths registered in the borough during the year was 2,646, but this does not
represent the true mortality among the population and, in order to obtain the corrected number
of deaths which does so represent the true mortality, it is necessary to add the deaths of
Kensington "residents" occurring outside the district to the number registered as actually
occurring in the borough, and to subtract from the total thus arrived at the deaths of "nonresidents
" taking place in the institutions provided in Kensington for the reception of sick or
infirm persons.
Total deaths registered in the borough 2,646
Deaths of residents in public institutions, etc., beyond the borough 525
3,171
Deaths of non-residents in public institutions, etc., within the
borough 716
Corrected number of deaths belonging to the borough 2,455
The corrected number of deaths gives a death rate of 14.0 per 1,000 living.