London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
This page requires JavaScript
| Original Number in Family. | Number of Families. | Total Births in Families. | Total Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 94 | 94 | 94 | |
| 2 | 86 | 172 | 89 | |
| 3 | 49 | 147 | 69 | |
| 4 | 45 | 180 | 72 | |
| 5 | 20 | 100 | 44 | |
| 6 | 22 | 132 | 65 | |
| 7 | 15 | 105 | 53 | |
| 8 | 7 | 56 | 22 | |
| 9 | 1 | 9 | 4 | |
| 10 | 6 | 60 | 27 | |
| U | 6 | 66 | 26 | |
| 12 | 6 | 72 | 27 | |
| 13 | 3 | 39 | 26 | |
| 14 | 1 | 14 | 6 | |
| 16 | 2 | 32 | 15 | |
| 363 | 1,278 | 639 = 50 per cent. of the births in these families. | ||
Thirty.eight deaths in 1906 were those of illegitimate infants. The death.rate of such children is much higher than that of legitimate infants:-
| Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Births. | Deaths. | Percentage. | Births. | Deaths. | Percentage. | |
| 1902 | 3,275 | 410 | 12.5 | 186 | 32 | 17.2 |
| 1903 | 3,035 | 345 | 11.3 | 150 | 25 | 16 .6 |
| 1904 | 2,920 | 320 | 10.9 | 134 | 40 | 29.8 |
| 1905 | 2,971 | 305 | 10.2 | 149 | 24 | 16 .1 |
| 1906 | 2,744 | 285 | 10.3 | 187 | 38 | 20 .3 |
| Five years | 14,945 | 1,665 | 11.1 | 806 | 159 | 19.7 |
Deaths from whooping cough and measles were fewer in infants
under one year of age, but diarrhœal and other stomach complaints
caused a considerable increased mortality, there being 88 deaths from
such causes, compared with HO in 1905; an analysis of these deaths
shows that all the babies except six were bottle.fed. The histories of
these six were as follows :-
(1) The mother and another child were both ill with diarrhoea
before the baby took it.
(2) Lived five days, and was apparently injured at birth.
(3) Lived ten days, had been given a probably contaminated
" comforter " to suck.
(4) Had also had occasional " bits of fish and such like."
b