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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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14 Report of the Medical Officer of Health for 1938.
TABLE II.
| Sub-District. | No. of Births. | Rates. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Total. | Birth-rate. | Natural increase or decrease. | |
| Clapham | 442 | 403 | 845 | 14.40 | +3.02 |
| Putney | 185 | 173 | 358 | 10.70 | — .66 |
| Balham | 372 | 300 | 672 | 12.93 | + .48 |
| Streatham | 323 | 299 | 622 | 9.44 | —2.20 |
| Tooting | 190 | 212 | 402 | 10.92 | + 1.14 |
| Wandsworth | 606 | 551 | 1,157 | 12.39 | + 1.90 |
| Whole Borough | 2,118 | 1,938 | 4,056 | 11.92 | + .75 |
The birth-rate was 11.92 per 1,000, compared with 11.53
for 1937, and 11.92 the decennial average.
The rate for the whole of London during 1938 was 13.4 and
for England and Wales, 15.1.
148 illegitimate births took place in the Borough, but only
64 belonged to the Borough. On the other hand 165 illegitimate
births belonging to Wandsworth occurred outside the Borough,
making a corrected total of illegitimate births belonging to
Wandsworth of 229, 47 of these belonged to Clapham, 29 to
Putney, 37 to Balham, 46 to Streatham, 24 to Tooting, and 46
to Wandsworth.
The percentage of illegitimate births to total births was 5.6.
The illegitimate births occuring in nursing homes have again
been allocated to the home addresses of the mothers.
Notification of Births Act.
Notifications of birth were received in respect of 2,158, or
92.69 per cent, of the 2,328 children who were born in the Borough
during the year.
1,753 of these notifications were transmitted by midwives,
322 by medical attendants, 20 by parents, and 63 by other persons.