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
Wandsworth 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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48 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The following Table shows the percentage of deaths at different
age periods to total infantile mortality for the year and for the five
previous years. It will be noted that there has been an increase
in this percentage under four weeks compared with the five years
average, and also at three to six months, while at the other age
periods there has been a decrease.
| 1908. | 1909. | 1910. | 1911. | 1912. | Five years average. | 1913 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate per 1,000 births | 98 | 86 | 78 | 122 | 76 | 92 | 88 |
| Percentage of above:— | |||||||
| Under one week | 199 | 22.4 | 27.1 | 16.3 | 28.7 | 22.9 | 24.9 |
| 1 and under 2 weeks | 5.0 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.8 |
| 2 and under 3 weeks | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 |
| 3 and under 4 weeks | 36 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.1 |
| Under 4 weeks | 32.8 | 37.4 | 40.9 | 29.5 | 44.7 | 37.1 | 37.7 |
| From 4 to 13 weeks | 21.6 | 16.9 | 18.5 | 14.2 | 20.5 | 18.3 | 18.3 |
| From 3 to 6 months | 13.7 | 18.7 | 16.9 | 22.2 | 15.4 | 17.4 | 18.2 |
| From 6 to 9 months | 18.3 | 15.5 | 14.5 | 16.8 | 9.7 | 14.9 | 12.9 |
| From 9 to 12 months | 13.6 | 11.5 | 9.2 | 17.8 | 9.7 | 12.3 | 12.9 |
| Under 12 months | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
In 1912 there was a considerable decrease in the Infantile
Mortality, and this was, in the Report for that year, stated to have
been due to the climatic conditions having been unfavourable for
Diarrhœa and Digestive diseases of infants, but in 1913 these
conditions were more favourable, and consequently there was
an increase in the mortality from these diseases.
This, combined with the increase in the number of deaths from
Measles and Pneumonia, increased the Infantile Mortality from
76 to 88 per 1,000 births.