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
Hampstead 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough]
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ing table shows an analysis of 222 instances where these births were visited, and where the information was obtainable :—
| No. of persons in family. | No. of families occupying the following number of rooms. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 room. | 2 rooms. | 3 rooms. | 4 rooms. | 5 rooms. | 6 rooms. | 7 rooms. | 8 rooms. | 9 rooms. | |
| l | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | 6 | 27 | 32 | l | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 3 | 33 | 25 | 12 | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| 4 | 1 | 16 | 19 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — |
| 5 | — | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | — | 3 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| 8 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals | 12 | 83 | 86 | 29 | 5 | 5 | — | 2 | — |
| The newly-born baby has not been included in the above. | |||||||||
Of these 222 births:—
5.4 per cent. occurred in 1-roomed tenements.
37.4 „ „ 2 „
38.7 „ „ 3 „
The table shows the limited housing conditions in some of the
tenements where babies are born at home. It demonstrates that of
222 babies, 12 were born in one-roomed tenements and 83 in tworoomed
tenements. In 1 one-roomed tenement where 4 persons were
already living a baby was born. With regard to two-roomed homes,
in 4 instances 5 persons were already inhabiting the rooms prior to
the birth of the baby, and in 3 cases the baby's advent raised the
number of occupants to 7. In 1 three-roomed tenement there were
7 persons occupying the rooms before the birth, and in 2 cases there
were 9.
Health Visiting Staff.
On the 25th May, 1933, the Council gave consideration to the
question of increasing the staff of Health Visitors. This matter had
been raised by me in a Special Report that I had prepared on the