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
Poplar 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Metropolitan Borough]
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Stillbirths.
| Number of stillbirths | 144 |
| Delivered in institutions and no information available | 20 |
| Premature births | 43 |
| Foetus macerated | 30 |
| First pregnancies | 24 |
| Mothers who worked during pregnancy | 13 |
| Instrumental deliveries (forceps) | 8 |
| Induction (one (?) hydramnios, one mother def.) | 2 |
| Transverse presentations | 2 |
| Prolapse of cord | 3 |
| One of triplets | 1 |
| One of twins | 4 |
| Breech presentations | 16 |
| Ante-partum hæmorrhage | 11 |
| Malformation (child) | 1 |
| Cord round neck | 2 |
| Five mothers died too. | |
Mothers who had had previous stillbirths :—
| One. | Two. | Three. | Four. | Five. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | 3 | — | — |
| Miscarriages:— | ||||
| 12 | 5 | 2 | — | 1 |
Eight attributed the fact that the child was stillborn to " shock," ten
to "accident," fourteen to "ill-health" (two tumours, one epileptic,
two epistaxis, one diabetes, one septic poisoning, one anaemia, five
influenza and pneumonia, one severe bilious attack), two to " blows in
street fight," one "excitement" (was sailing for Africa, taken ill in
shipping office), and one to-" efforts in early months to get rid of it."
Nursing.
| Ophth. Neon. | Measles. | Zy. Enteritis. | Influenza. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Visits. | Cases | Visits. | Cases | Visits. | Cases. Visits. | ||
| East London Nursing Society | 12 | 343 | 32 | 421 | — | — | 4 | 54 |
| St. John Divine | 6 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Millwall & Cubitt Town | 4 | 158 | 1 | 25 | — | — | — | — |
| The Ranyard Nursas | 1 | 26 | 9 | 158 | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 23 | 701 | 42 | 604 | — | — | 4 | 54 |