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
Paddington 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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39
MORTALITY OF CHILDHOOD
Infantile Diarrhœa.— Enquiries were made as to 35 deaths from this cause, 29 of the children
being under 10 months of age. Among the latter, 3 (10 per cent.) were being fed naturally at
the time of death, I had a mixed diet, and 25 (86 per cent.) were on artificial diets. In 10
(28.5 per cent.) instances the long tube bottle was in use. Only two of the 35 houses had
proper larder accommodation. The following nuisances were discovered on the premises—
defective (or insufficient) dustbins, 3; accumulations of house refuse or manure, 2; and
animals improperly kept, 1.
The deaths in the insulœ already specified are distributed under "cause of" and "age at
death" in Table 27. As only two years are included in that Table it would be useless to
attempt to formulate any conclusions therefrom.
Mortality among Illegitimate Children.— Among the deaths registered in the Borough
were 47 of children described as illegitimate, including 12 who were non-residents. Outside
the Borough 4 such deaths were registered, giving a nett total of 39 deaths, compared with
43 in 1906, and 34 in 1905. Of the corrected total number of deaths, 25 were of children
under one year of age. The infantile mortality among illegitimate children, calculated on
the number of births registered within the Borough (115) was 217 per 1,000, as compared
with a rate of 253 in 1906, and a mean rate of 244. Calculated on the fully corrected
number of births (134) last year's rate was 186; that of 1906, 258; and the mean, 206.
A comparison of the mortalities among illegitimate and legitimate children, the causes of death of the former and occupations of their mothers, will be found below.
| Deaths of Illegitimate Children. 1907. | Infantile Mortality. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ages (yrs.) | Males. | Females. | Persons. | |||||||||
| 0- | 19 | 6 | 25 | Illegitimate. | Legitimate. | |||||||
| 1- | 7 | 4 | 11 | 1907 | 186 | 107 | ||||||
| 5- | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1902-06 | 206 | 114 | ||||||
| Totals | 28 | 11 | 39 | Occupations of Mothers. | ||||||||
| Causes of Death. | ||||||||||||
| 0- | 1- | 5- | ||||||||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | Domestic Service | 21 | |||||
| Scarlet Fever | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | Cook | 1 | Housekeeper | 2 | ||
| Diphtheria | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | Housemaid | 1 | Nursemaid | 1 | ||
| Diarrhoeal Diseases | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | - | Parlourmaid | 3 | General Servant | 6 | ||
| Enteritis | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | Scullervmaid | 1 | "Servant" | 6 | ||
| Septic Diseases | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | Trades | 14 | ||||
| Tubercular Diseases | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | - | ||||||
| Premature Birth | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Developmental Dis. | 3 | 2 | - | 2 | — | - | Dressmaker | 1 | Waitress | 1 | ||
| Respiratory Dis. | 3 | - | 4 | - | - | - | Mantlemaker | 1 | Barmaid | 1 | ||
| Other Causes | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | Machinist | 1 | Charwoman | 3 | ||
| Totals | 19 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Packer | 2 | Laundress | 4 | ||
| One death certified after inquest. | No occupation, occupation not stated | 4 | ||||||||||
Mortality among Young Children.— No estimates of the numbers of children living
at ages between one and five years are available, but approximations have been obtained
by deducting the numbers dying at ages under one year from the births (using the fully
corrected totals), carrying the difference (survivors, aged 1-2 years) to the succeeding year,