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
St Pancras 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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| Year. | Still Births. | Illegitimate Births. | Deaths of Illegitimate Children. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year. | Under 4 weeks. | |||||||
| Number (Illegitimates in brackets.) | Rate per 1,000 births (live and still). | Number. | Rate per cent. of live births. | Number. | Rate per 1,000 Illegitimate births. | Number. | Rate per 1,000 Illegitimate births. | |
| 1918 | — | — | 310 | 9.5 | 75 | 237 | 18 | 57 |
| 1919 | — | — | 302 | 8.4 | 69 | 216 | 17 | 53 |
| 1920 | — | — | 332 | 5.6 | 68 | 212 | 15 | 46 |
| 1921 | — | — | 264 | 5.5 | 46 | 178 | 15 | 58 |
| 1922 | — | - | 254 | 5.6 | 40 | 157 | 7 | 28 |
| 1923 | — | — | 247 | 5.7 | 44 | 177 | 15 | 60 |
| 1924 | - | - | 242 | 5.9 | 36 | 147 | 8 | 33 |
| 1925 | — | — | 243 | 6.3 | 31 | 129 | 10 | 42 |
| 1926 | — | — | 226 | 6.3 | 31 | 135 | 10 | 43 |
| 1927 | — | — | 228 | 6.9 | 33 | 142 | 15 | 65 |
| 1928 | — | — | 238 | 7.3 | 37 | 152 | 17 | 70 |
| 1929 | 114 (17) | 34.7 | 246 | 7.8 | 31 | 123 | 8 | 32 |
| 1930 | 103 (16) | 31 1 | 269 | 8.4 | 29 | 105 | 12 | 43 |
| 1931 | 104 (13) | 33.9 | 245 | 8.3 | 29 | 114 | 12 | 47 |
| 1932 | 78 (13) | 28.2 | 214 | 8.0 | 27 | 121 | 10 | 45 |
| 1933 | 88 (15) | 32.8 | 227 | 8.8 | 23 | 99 | 17 | 73 |
| 1934 | 77 (8) | 30.4 | 239 | 9.8 | 28 | 114 | 14 | 57 |
| 1935 | 94 (11) | 36.7 | 218 | 8.8 | 21 | 95 | 11 | 50 |
| 1936 | 103 (9) | 41 .3 | 233 | 9.7 | 28 | 120 | 12 | 52 |
| 1937 | 78 (14) | 31.9 | 221 | 9.3 | 28 | 121 | 10 | 43 |
| 1938 | 83 (17) | 32.9 | 282 | 11.6 | 27 | 94 | 9 | 31 |
| 1939 | 60(6) | 26.7 | 265 | 11 .7 | 26 | 94 | Records suspended. | |
| 1940 | 66 (10) | 32.8 | 197 | 9.8 | 17 | 86 | ||
| 1941 | 34 (6) | 23.2 | 159 | 10.8 | 7 | 44 | ||
| 1942 | 48 (8) | 26.2 | 188 | 10.2 | 22 | 117 | ||
| 1943 | 47 (11) | 25.0 | 274 | 14.5 | 27 | 99 | ||
| 1944 | 59 (13) | 29.9 | 287 | 14.5 | 30 | 105 | ||
| 1945 | 56 (13) | 27.8 | 325 | 16.1 | 21 | 65 | ||
| 1946 | 64 (11) | 25.0 | 297 | 11.6 | 14 | 47 | ||
| 1947 | 70 (8) | 24.4 | 313 | 11.2 | 19 | 61 | ||
| 1948 | 46 (6) | 18 4 | 281 | 11.5 | 12 | 42 | ||
The still birth rate is the number of children born dead, out of every thousand live
and still births.
The still birth rate for 1948 was 18.4. This is the lowest figure that has ever been
recorded in the Borough of St. Pancras. It is impossible to consider the still birthrate
separately from the rate of children who die within a few hours or days of birth, for the
causation is much the same in many cases. A premature child may fail to breath and be
regarded as a still birth, or may live a few days and be regarded as a neo-natal death. Again,
a foetal abnormality may result in still birth or survival for a few hours. It will, therefore,
be seen that often the causes of the one are the causes of the other. I do not think there is
any doubt but that as the health of a population improves, so does the still birth rate fall.
Better surroundings, adequate nutrition and care during the ante-natal period are factors of
prime importance. Thus the steady decline in the still birth rate in St. Pancras, which has
fallen from the high figure of 41.3 in 1936 to 18.4 in 1948, may be considered as a reflection