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
London County Council 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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periods 1920-1927, and 1928-1931, together with the deaths in childbirth in 1931 are shown in the following table:—
| Metropolitan Boroughs. | Childbirth deaths per 1,000 births. | Number of deaths in Childbirth. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920-27. | 1928-31. | 1931. | |||||||
| Puerperal fever. | Other causes. | Total. | Puerperal fever. | Other causes. | Total. | Puerperal fever. | Other causes. | Total. | |
| Paddington | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Kensington | 1.9 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 7 | 8 | 16 |
| Hammersmith | 2.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Fulham | 1.9 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 4.2 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Chelsea | 1.9 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Westminster | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 6.8 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| St. Marylebone | 2.1 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Hampstead | 1.8 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| St. Pancras | 1.4 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Islington | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| Stoke Newington | 2.6 | 1.9 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Hackney | 1.8 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| Holborn | 2.9 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | — | — | — |
| Finsbury | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| London, City of | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.3 | — | 6.3 | — | — | |
| Shoreditch | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | — | 3 | 3 |
| Bethnal Green | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Stepney | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Poplar | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Southwark | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| Bermondsey | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Lambeth | 1.8 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 6 | 9 | 15 |
| Battersea | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Wandsworth | 1.6 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 4.3 | 15 | 2 | 17 |
| Camberwell | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 4.0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Deptford | 1.6 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Greenwich | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Lewisham | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| Woolwich | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| London | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 132 | 118 | 250 |
The deaths in childbirth in 1931 are shown in the above table, but not the
maternal mortality, as owing to the smallness of the figures the death.rates for
a single year may be misleading ; the relative mortality in the various boroughs can
only be correctly inferred from rates covering a considerable period as, for instance,
those shown in the above table for the eight years 1920-27. It will be seen that
during this period the boroughs with the lowest maternal mortality per thousand births
were Finsbury, Shoreditch, Greenwich and Stepney ; and that the highest mortality
occurred in Chelsea, St. Marylebone, Westminster and Stoke Newington, which have
also the highest rates in the period 1928-31. The rate shown for the City of London
in 1928-31 is based upon too small a number of cases to be representative.
There were 186 notifications of fevers of the enteric group in London in 1931
(52 weeks) compared with 291 in 1930 (53 weeks).
Enteric
fevers.
The deaths in the calendar year numbered 24, as against 26 in 1930. This is
the lowest number of deaths recorded in London from this cause.