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 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stoke Newington, The Metropolitan Borough]
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INFANTILE MORTALITY.
There were 42 deaths of infants under one year of age, as against 693 births ; the proportion which the deaths under one year bear to 1,000 births is therefore 60'6 as compared with 46 for the previous year.
| M. | F. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths under 1 year : | Legitimate | 22 | 16 |
| Illegitimate | 2 | 2 | |
The chief cause of mortality among infants in 1935, as
appearing in Table II was, as usual, prematurity with 12 deaths
as compared with 7 deaths for the previous year.
The next largest cause of death was diseases of the digestive
system, with 5 deaths as compared with 8 for the previous year.
There were 3 deaths of infants attributed to infectious diseases.
(Influenza, cerebro-spinal meningitis and whooping cough)
It will be noted that during 1934 the deaths during the first
four weeks of life amounted to 24, a percentage of 57 of the total
Infantile Mortality during the first year of life, also that 18 of these
infant deaths occurred during the first week of life.
The reason for the high rate of mortality during the first
month of life is that the children who receive injuries at birth
and those suffering from developmental and wasting diseases die
soon after birth.
During the past 30 years the Infant Mortality rate has fallen
some 50%, but this fall has occurred mainly subsequent to the
first few weeks of life, the death rate during the first four weeks
remaining much the same.
When every mother, and especially a first mother, attends an
ante-natal clinic, or is otherwise kept under medical supervision
during her pregnancy, then there should result a diminution in the
number of deaths of babies at this early age.