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 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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will have to be done by other workers before this discovery is accepted
as the foundation stone on which to build all future researches.
Infantile Mortality.—The corrected death-rate of infants for Westminster
was 69.0 per 1,000 births. The mortality among legitimate
infants was 62 per 1,000; that of illegitimate 153.8. The average rates
of mortality for the five year period 1921-25 work out at 55.38 for legitimate
and 126.98 for illegitimate, giving a total rate for the period of
62.0 per 1,000 for Westminster as compared with 70.0 for London as
a whole.
The death-rates for infants under one year of age as applied to the
districts in which the City is divided for Maternity and Child Welfare
purposes are as follows:—
Table VIII. Death-rates of children under one year of age for 1925
| Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pimlico area | 71.5 | 153.8 |
| Greek Street | 50.3 | 88.2 |
| Rochester Row | 53.2 | 111.1 |
Table IX shows the deaths as they occurred during the four quarters of the year and allocated according to the districts already mentioned. Table IX.
| 1925. | Pimlico, | St. Margaret and St. John. | North. | Unknown. | Total 1925. | Total 1924. | Total. 1923. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter . | 20 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 31 | 24 |
| 2nd „ | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 27 | 20 |
| 3rd „ | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 16 | 18 |
| 4th „ | 20 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 22 | 21 |
| 62 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 106 | 96 | 83 |
Of the 106 deaths, 35 occurred in the first quarter of the year and
33 in the final quarter. In the former period an epidemic of whoopingcough,
which lasted from January to April, exacted a severe toll of
infant life; 205 cases were notified during this quarter, when 6 deaths
out of a total of 7 under one year occurred. Enteritis and prematurity
also accounted for more deaths than in 1924.
Table X shows the births and deaths of infants, legitimate and
illegitimate, since 1902 onwards, with the corresponding infantile mortality
rates for Westminster and for London:—