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 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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MORTALITY IN CHILDHOOD. 87
The sex-age distribution of attacks and deaths during the three years is shown in Table 47.
At ages under one year the attacks among males outnumbered those among females in all three
years, but last year the attacks in females aged 1-2 years were more numerous than the attacks
among males at the same ages. The fatality among males, both at ages under one and at ages
1-2, were the highest recorded during the three years included in the table. (See below.)
" dlarrhcea." Fatality Rates. Known Cases.
| 1913. | 1912. | 1911, | |
| 0-1 year. | |||
| Males | ... 264 | 11-8 | 22-8 |
| Females | ... 127 | 21-8 | 25 |
| 1-2 years. | |||
| Males | ... 58 | _ | 1-0 |
| Females | — | 3-7 | 5-4 |
TABLE 47.
| 1913. | 1913. | 1913 | 1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 28 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 29 | 1 | — | - | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Totals..... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
An analysis of the attacks at ages under 9 months shows that of the total known attacks
(92) 31 were in infants fed exclusively at the breast, 48 were entirely artificially fed (hand
reared), and 13 had a mixed diet of breast and bottle food. The total fatality among these
children was 21"6 per cent.; that among those fed at the breast only, 9"6 per cent.; among those
fed artificially, 291 ; and among those on a mixed diet, 230. There were 26 deaths at ages
under nine months of children whose illness was not known during life, 24 of those children being
artificially fed, and the other two deaths were divided among the other forms of feeding.
" Diarrhcea." At Ages 0-9 months.
| Method of Feeding. | Recovering. | Known Cases. Dying. | Total. | Deaths. | ||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | |
| Breast | 14 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 15 | _ | 1 |
| Artificial | 19 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 15 | 9 |
| Mixed | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | — | 1 |
| Totals | 39 | 33 | 15 | 5 | 54 | 38 | 15 | 11 |
Of the 59 deaths included in Table 45, 41 (69 4 per cent.) occurred in institutions, including
29 in the Infirmary and 5 at the Park (M.A.B.) Hospital. The 59 deaths included 14 (19'1 per
cent, of the total) of illegitimate children, 6 being males and 8 females. Broncho-pneumonia
was a frequent complication mentioned in the certificate of death.