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
City of Westminster 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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cases where the infant was reported still-born or dead within a few
days of birth the mother was at work during the pregnancy.
Under Mother's Health (Table IIe), the figures are significant,
although per haps little can be inferred from them as to any influence
of heredity in determining the health of the infant; exposed to the
same conditions this would in any case vary with that of the mother.
The following figures are for phthisis.
| Infanta. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Cases. | Parent Consumptive. | Health. | Delicate. | Dead. |
| 18 | Father | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| 17 | Mother | 2 | 9 | 6 |
| 35 | 8 | 14 | 13 | |
Table II.
| Infants. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Cases. | Healthy. | Delicate. | Dead. | ||||
| Number. | Per Cent. | Number. | Per Cent. | Number. | Per Cent. | ||
| * | |||||||
| 385 | Block | 292 | 75.8 | 69 | 17.9 | 24 (12) | 6.2 |
| 813 | Tenement | 555 | 68.2 | 186 | 22.8 | 72 (39) | 8.5 |
| 39 | Cottage | 31 | 79.5 | 6 | 15.3 | 2 | 5.1 |
| 700 | Good | 547 | 78.1 | 107 | 15.3 | 46 (28) | 6.5 |
| 359 | Indifferent | 246 | 68.5 | 81 | 22.5 | 32 (15) | 8.9 |
| 159 | Bad | 69 | 43.4 | 70 | 44.0 | 20 (8) | 12.6 |
| (81) | (Basement) | (36) | (44.4) | (37) | (45.6) | (8) (2) | (9.9) |
| 19 | Unstated | 16 | — | 3 | — | — | — |
| c. Poverty - | |||||||
| 546 | Comfortable (over 25s.) | 427 | 78.2 | 86 | 15.7 | 33 (23) | 6.0 |
| 402 | Poor (21s. to 25s. inclusive) | 294 | 73.1 | 80 | 19.9 | 28 (14) | 7.0 |
| 266 | Very poor (under 21$.) | 136 | 51.1 | 93 | 35.0 | 37 (14) | 13.9 |
| 23 | Unstated | 21 | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| d. Mother's Work — | |||||||
| 934 | No occupation | 700 | 74.9 | 173 | 18.5 | 61 (32) | 6.5 |
| 135 | Home work | 94 | 69.6 | 31 | 22.9 | 10 (7) | 7.4 |
| 168 | Out work | 84 | 50.0 | 57 | 33.9 | 27 (12) | 16.1 |
| e. Mother's Health— | |||||||
| 926 | Strong . | 721 | 77.8 | 155 | 16.7 | 50 (18) | 5.4 |
| 311 | Delicate | 157 | 50.5 | 106 | 34.0 | 48 (33) | 15.4 |
| f. Mode of Feedingf— | |||||||
| 844 | Breast | 716 | 84.8 | 108 | 12.7 | 20 (8) | 2.3 |
| 114 | Partly a (under 6 weeks) | 49 | 43.0 | 46 | 40.5 | 19 (1) | 16.7 |
| 70 | „ b (about 3 months) | 35 | 50.0 | 32 | 45.7 | 3 | 4.3 |
| 31 | ,, c (about 6 months) | 12 | 38.7 | 18 | 58.0 | 1 | 3.2 |
| 140 | Bottle | 66 | 47.1 | 57 | 40.7 | 17 (4) | 12.1 |
| 1,237 | 878 | 70.9 | 261 | 21.2 | 98 (51) | 7.9 | |
* Figures in brackets denote infants dying under 1 month.
† 38 iufants—20 still-born, 18 dying within 1 week are excluded.
b