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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
Battersea 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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13
Infant Mortality.
During 1956 the deaths of 42 infants under 1 year of age were
registered as belonging to Battersea. The total number of live births
registered during the year was 1,769 giving an infant mortality rate
of 23.74 per 1,000 live births as compared with 24.71 in 1955 and
18.99 in 1954.
The infant mortality rate in England and Wales during 1956
was 23.8.
The following table sets out the causes of death in detail. Infant Mortality, 1956. Nett deaths from stated causes at various ages under 1 year.
| CAUSES OF death | AGE PERIODS | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 24 hours | 1-7 days | Weeks | Total under 4 weeks | Months | Total deaths under 1 year | Percentape of Total | |||||||||||||||||
| 1-2 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 3-6 | 6-9 | 9-12 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pneumonia | m. | f. | m. | m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | ||||
| — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | 96 | |
| Congenital malformations | — | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 4 | 4 | 19.0 |
| other defined and ill-define diseases:— | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prematurity | 7 | 4 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 57.1 | ||
| Other causes | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | 12.0 | ||
| Accidents | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2.3 |
| Totals | 9 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | — | 30 | 12 | 100.0 | |
| 14 | 17 | 4 | — | — | 35 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 42 | |||||||||||||
| Percentage of total | 33.2 | 40.4 | 9.6 | 83.2 | 9.6 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 100.0 | m. 71.4 F. 28.6 | ||||||||||||||
There were 35 deaths of infants during the first four weeks of
life (or 83.2 per cent, of the total infant deaths) as compared with
30 deaths (or 69.8 per cent.) in 1955 and a percentage for the
quinquennium 1951-1955 of 63.3.
table showing Deaths of Infants under 1 day, under 1 week and under 4 weeks from 1951 to 1956.
| Year | Under 24 hours | 1 to 7 days | 1 to 4 weeks | Total under 4 weeks | Percentage deaths under 4 weeks of total infant deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 32 | 61.5 |
| 1952 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 54.8 |
| 1953 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 54.5 |
| 1954 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 75.8 |
| 1955 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 30 | 69.8 |
| Mean | 10 | 12 | 3 | 25 | 63.3 |
| 1956 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 35 | 83.2 |