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3
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER
OF HEALTH FOR 1970
To The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you the sixth Annual Report on
the health of the London Borough of Wandsworth covering the
twelve months ending the 31st December, 1970, having succeeded
Dr. Tudor Lewis as Medical Officer of Health at the beginning of
April in that year.
Vital statistics traditionally receive pride of place in the Annual
Report as broad indices of the state of the public health; to
facilitate ready comparison the figures for the previous year are
shown in parentheses in this paragraph. So far as 1970 is concerned
the resident population in Wandsworth continued to fall
slowly, the mid-year estimate being 317,410 (319,190), and the
birth rate of 15.04 (15.70), the general death rate of 10.70 (11.0),
the maternal mortality rate of 0.40 (0.56) and the overall infant
mortality rate of 19.70 (20.0) all showed a modest decrease. On
the other hand the local figures recorded a rise in the stillbirth rate
to 13.77 (13.0), in the perinatal mortality rate—which is based on
the number of stillbirths and of deaths within the first week of life
per thousand total live and stillbirths—to 27.0 (24.7) and in the
neonatal mortality rate, related to deaths under the age of one
month, to 15.07 (12.40). Both stillbirths and neonatal deaths
reflect the influence of prenatal factors of which our knowledge
is still far from complete. One factor known to be of considerable
importance, however, is illegitimacy. Here it is pertinent to mention
that the number of illegitimate births in Wandsworth in 1970 rose
to 845 (793) constituting just 17% (15.1%) of all live births within
the Borough; the illegitimate infant mortality rate of 30.0 (22.7) was
nearly double the legitimate infant mortality rate of 17.7 (19.6) and,
unlike the latter, had increased appreciably compared with the
previous year. All too often extramarital conception prejudices that
high standard of antenatal care—entailing early and regular supervision—which
is the best guarantee of a safe outcome for both
mother and child. A high price may be paid for maternal neglect
during pregnancy and confinement. Certainly a situation in which
one in every six babies born to Wandsworth residents is illegitimate
cannot be regarded with equanimity.
Cigarette smoking is another factor now recognized to exert a
potent adverse influence upon the expectant mother in relation to