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19
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Infantile Mortality.
The deaths of children under one year of age in the Administrative County of London during
1910 (52 weeks) numbered 11,809, being in the proportion of 103 per 1,000 births.

The accompanying diagram (D.) shows the infantile mortality in each year since 1857 in relation
to the mean infantile mortality of the period 1858-1910, and also the infantile mortality in each year
after exclusion of the deaths from premature birth, which cause of death would in all probability be
affected in greater degree than the deaths under any other heading by the more complete registration
of recent years. It will be seen that the rates of 1910 are the lowest recorded in this period.

Infantile
mortality in
large English
towns.
London had therefore in the period 1905-9 a lower infantile mortality than any of these towns
except Bristol. In 1910 the London rate was below all except that of Bristol and West Ham.
The rates are uncorrected (except in the case of London) for births in institutions. The
uncorrected London rate for 1910 was 104.
The comparison of the infantile mortality rates of towns in different countries is undoubtedly
affected by differences in the practice with regard to the registration and allocation of births and also
by the extent to which correction is made for deaths amongst infants put out to nurse in suburbs, or
in institutions.
fnfantile
mortality in
foreign
towns.

(a) The registration of births was not made compulsory until the beginning of 1875; before that year many births
were probably unregistered. (b) See footnotes (b) and (c) page 8.