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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43
MORTALITY OF CHILDHOOD
It may be said that the appended figures indicate that breast feeding is more common than was thought to be the case.
| Age of Infant. | Breast. | Hand. | Mixed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 month | 180 | 11 | 10 |
| „ 1-2 months | 350 | 62 | 32 |
| „ 1-2 month | 258 | 51 | 40 |
| „ 3-6 „ | 168 | 39 | 29 |
| „ 6-9 „ | 15 | 4 | 6 |
| Totals | 971 | 167 | 117 |
| Percentages | 77.3 | 13.3 | 9.3 |
Of the children fed otherwise than by the breast, 225 were bottle-fed—"tube" bottles
being in use for 50 children, "screw-top" for 42, and "safety" for 133. The remaining 59
children were fed by the spoon. The Inspectors reported that the bottles were dirty on four
occasions only.
Great care is exercised in selecting the cases to be visited, only those being chosen which
appear to be prima facie in need of advice. The criteria for making the selection are knowledge
of the character of the street where the parents reside and their occupations. The
appended statement of the numbers of rooms in the homes visited indicate one of the results of the selection, but fail to give any clue as to the proportional frequency of births in the different ranks of life as they would if all births were visited.
| No. | Per cent. of all homes visited. | Whole Borough, 1907. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes of 1 room | 187 | 14.9 | 14.9 |
| „ 2 rooms | 586 | 46.6 | 19.8 |
| „ 4 „ | 380 | 30.2 | 19.4 |
| ,, 4 ,, ... | 102 | 8.1 | 10.6 |
Only 42 of the homes were reported to be "dirty." Separate beds were provided for 462
infants (36.8 per cent.) and were promised for 56 others. A very serious defect noted in the
homes was the want of accommodation for the proper storage of food. Larders were found
at 92 (7.3 per cent.) of the homes only. Nuisances requiring action by the Department were
reported at 72 houses.
'I he mothers visited had given birth, at previous pregnancies, to 3,292 children, including
106 born dead, of whom 2,538 survived. The children dying after birth numbered 648—a
figure equal to mortality of 196.8 per 1,000 births. Particulars of the ages at which those
children died were not obtained, but, as their mothers were still fecund, and therefore in no
case much over forty years of age, none of the children could have been anywhere near
maturity. The mortality may safely be taken as an indication of the need of advice in the
rearing of children.
* One hundred and eighty-two (182) children were specially selected for re-visiting owing to their unsatisfactory
health, the total number of re-visits being 411.