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
Holborn 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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10
The birth-rates and death-rates given in this report are the crude rates, that
is to say no correction has been made for sex and age distribution. The population
of the Borough is such that probably a truer indication of the birth and
death incidence would be indicated by rates corrected for such distribution. As,
however, the Registrar-General in his summary tables and statistical review gives
crude rates only, it is thought better for comparison purposes to adopt the same
principle for this report.
| Annual Rates per 1,000 living. | Deaths under 1 year to 1,000 Births. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Births. | Deaths. | ||
| England and Wales | 14.4 | 12.3 | 64 |
| London | 13.2 | 12.2 | 59 |
| Holborn | 9.49 | 13.48 | 70 |
Registered Births.
The total number of births registered as occurring in the Borough was 180
(83 males and 97 females). Of these, 166 were legitimate and 14 illegitimate.
Corrected Births and Birth-Rate.
I received from the Registrar-General information of the births in outlying
institutions in London of 133 legitimate infants and 42 illegitimate infants whose
mothers were residents of the Borough. Thirteen of the births occurring in the
Borough, 11 legitimate and 2 illegitimate, were infants of mothers who were nonresidents
of the Borough. The corrected number of births is therefore 342, and the
corrected birth-rate 9.49.
The following is the corrected number of births and the corrected birth-rates for the year 1933: —
| Year. | Total Births. | Legitimate Births. | Illegitimate Births. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate per 1,000 of Population. | No. | Rate per 1,000 of population. | Proportion per 1,000 total Registered Births. | No. | Rate per 1.000 of population. | Proportion per 1,000 total Registered Births. | |
| 1933 | 342 | 9.49 | 288 | 7.99 | 842.1 | 54 | 1.50 | 157.9 |
In London the corrected birth-rate in 1933 was 13.2 per 1,000 in comparison with 14 3 for 1932.
In Holborn, as in most other districts, there has been a marked reduction in
the birth-rate in the last 20 years, the rate for 1933 being only 9.49 per thousand
in comparison with 13.7 in 1913.