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
Stoke Newington 1922
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stoke Newington, The Metropolitan Borough]
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453
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
There were 63 deaths registered of infants under one year of age, as against 937 births ; the proportion which the deaths under one year of age bear to 1,000 births, is therefore, 671 as against 531 in the preceding year.
| Year. | Rate of Infantile Mortality. | Rate for London generally. | Rate for England and Wales. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 87.2 | 107 | 97 |
| 1919 | 62.6 | 85 | 89 |
| 1920 | 80 0 | 75 | 80 |
| 1921 | 53 1 | 79 | 83 |
| 1922 | 67.1 | 74 | 77 |
A comparison of the causes of Infantile Mortality in 1922 with
those of the preceding year shows a slight increase during last year
in the deaths from Bronchitis and Pneumonia, Congenital Defects
and Weaknesses, and Measles ; whereas there was a decrease in
the deaths from Diarrhoea and Enteritis.
The causes contributing to a high rate of mortality have been
discussed in previous reports, and it will suffice to call attention to
the fact that of 63 children who died under the age of one year,
28 deaths were ascribed to Prematurity, Wasting, and Congenital
Defects, and 16 to Bronchitis and Pneumonia, a total of 44 deaths
resulting from these two groups.
Our mean Infant Mortality Rate for the past 14 years is one
to be proud of. For this long period, embracing the difficult times
of the Great War, it is only 77. If the rate of mortality of London
generally had applied to Stoke Newington we should have lost
considerably more infants. The mean rate of mortality among
infants in Stoke Newington during the past 14 years represents
a saving of some 500 infant lives as compared with those which
would have been lost if there had been no improvement upon the
mean rate of mortality during 1901.1908, when previous to 1907
our rate of infant mortality had never fallen below 108, it was not
considered likely that in only a few years a mean rate of 77 would
be reached. It is now safe to predict that the rate can never again
approach to its former dimensions so long as our present.day public