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 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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Table XX.
| CAUSES OF DEATH. | Under 1 Week. | 1—2 Weeks. | 2—3 Weeks. | 3—4 Weeks. | Total under 4 Weeks. | 4 Weeks and under 3 Months. | 3 Months and under 6 Months. | 6 Months and under 9 Months. | 9 Months and under 12 Months. | Total Deaths under 1 Year. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neglect at birth | 5 | — | — | — | 5 I | — | — | — | — | 5 |
Deaths of children unknown:—
| Males. | Females. | Total. | |
| Legitimate | — | — | — |
| Illegitimate | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Table XXI.—Infant Mortality and Births in Wards. The following table shows the allocation of the nett births and infant deaths among the various wards in the City, together with the infantile mortality rate for the ward.
| Wards. | Population, 1931 Census. | Total Births, 1935. | Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | Total Infant Deaths, 1935. | Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | 1935—Infant death rate per 1,000 births | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | Total Rate. | ||||||||
| Conduit | 2,086 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grosvenor | 13,318 | 56 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 20.0 | — | 17.8 |
| Pall Mall | 2,872 | 6 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Regent | 4,047 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 41.6 | — | 38.4 |
| Gt.Marlborough | 3,331 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 142.8 | — | 125.0 |
| St. Anne | 5,405 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 86.9 | 200.0 | 107.1 |
| Covent Garden | 6,655 | 52 | 48 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 104.1 | 250.0 | 115.3 |
| Charing Cross | 3,210 | 8 | 8 | — | 3 | 3 | — | 375.0 | — | 375.0 |
| Strand | 2,052 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Victoria | 36,955 | 425 | 358 | 67 | 34 | 24 | 10 | 67.0 | 149.2 | 80.0 |
| K. St. George | 11,445 | 64 | 58 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 68.9 | 166.0 | 78.1 |
| Hamlet | 6,461 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 27.0 | — | 25.0 |
| St. Margaret | 8,671 | 24 | 24 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 41.6 | — | 83.3 |
| St. John | 23,071 | 281 | 264 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 41.6 | 117.6 | 46.2 |
| Homeless | — | 15 | 1 | 14 | 5 | — | 5 | — | 357.1 | 333.3 |
| Total | 129,579 | 1,042 | 913 | 129 | 75 | 54 | 21 | 59.1 | 162.7 | 72 |
The infant death rate for Charing Cross Ward seems staggering until
it is noted that only eight babies were born in a population of over 3,000.
If this were a village or county township the lack of fertility would be
abnormal but here the population consists of elderly caretakers, a high
proportion of single persons e.g., hotel and club servants, &c. The eight
children were all born to married parents and the three died of prematurity.