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 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
- 2 -
The following table gives the adjusted Kensington birth and death rates compared with the provisional rates for London and for England and Wales for the year 1963:-
| Kensington adjusted | London | England and Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of births per 1,000 population 11.08 | 11.8 | 20.0 | 18.2 |
| No. of deaths per 1,000 population 12.04 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 12.2 |
Infant Death Rate. This rate for 1963 was 25.2, an increase compared with the rate for the previous year of 22.4. The provisional rate for the County of London was 21.8 and for England and Wales was 20.9. The following table shows the rates for the last five years:-
| Year | Kensington | London | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 25.2 | 21.8 | 20.9 |
| 1962 | 22.4 | 21.1 | 21.6 |
| 1961 | 20.9 | 21.5 | 21.6 |
| 1960 | 20.8 | 21.6 | 21.9 |
| 1959 | 24.8 | 22.3 | 22.2 |
Variations in the infant mortality rate are contributed to partly
by perinatal mortality, i.e. stillbirths and deaths in the first week of
life, prematurity (see table below) and the statistical difficulties arising
from the small numbers involved. Just over two deaths suffice to
increase the rate by one.
Number of deaths of babies under one week of age
| Year | Age in days at death | Total | No. of deaths due to prematurity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 or under | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||
| 1959 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 38 |
| 1960 | 27 | 4 | - | 4 | - | 2 | 37 | 22 |
| 1961 | 30 | 6 | - | 3 | - | 1 | 40 | 21 |
| 1962 | 36 | 4 | 1 | - | l | 4 | 46 | 19 |
| 1963 | 36 | 4 | 1 | - | — | 1 | 42 | 20 |
Number of deaths of babies under one week of age
| 1963 | 1962 | |
|---|---|---|
| Neo-natal mortality rate (i.e. deaths of infants under 4 weeks per 1,000 total live births) | 16.11 | 15.32 |
| Early neo-natal mortality rate (i.e. deaths of infants under 1 week per 1,000 total live births) | 13.07 | 13.55 |
| Perinatal mortality rate (i.e. stillbirths and deaths of infants under 1 week per 1,000 total live and still births) | 26.39 | 30.96 |