London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
The death-rates per 1,000 live births in London and England and Wales in recent years are shown in the following table:—
Table 18
| 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 7.59 | 10.32 | 10.96 | 9.89 | 9.71 | 12.55 | 11.74 | 12.80 | 11.31 | 14.47 | 12.29 | 13.23 |
| England and Wales | 6.69 | 7.22 | 8.26 | 6.15 | 5.90 | 6.60 | 6.98 | 5.36 | 5.56 | 5.75 | 5.54 | 5.30 |
Puerperal
fever and
pyrexia :
maternal
mortality
There were 199 notifications of puerperal fever and 853 notifications of puerperal
pyrexia in 1938, compared with 228 and 793 respectively in 1937.
The deaths from puerperal fever numbered 43 and from other puerperal causes
61, the deaths per thousand live-births being .79 and 1.12 respectively, giving a
total maternal mortality rate of 1.91, compared with 2.29 in 1937.
The deaths from puerperal fever and other puerperal causes per thousand live-births in each metropolitan borough and in the county of London in the periods 1921 to 1930 and 1931 to 1938, together with the deaths in childbirth in 1938, are shown in the following table:—
Table 19
| Metropolitan boroughs arranged in topographical order | Childbirth deaths* per 1,000 live-births | Number of deaths in ohildbirth 1938 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921-30 | 1931-38 | ||||||||
| Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | |
| Western. | |||||||||
| Paddington | 1.6 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Kensington | 2.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Hammersmith | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Fulham | 2.1 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Chelsea | 1.9 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Westminster | 2.1 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 6 | — | 6 |
| Northern. | |||||||||
| St. Marylebone | 2.3 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 4.0 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Hampstead | 1.9 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 1 |
| St. Pancras | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Islington | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Stoke Newington | 2.3 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Hackney | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Central. | |||||||||
| Holborn | 2.4 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 3.7 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Finsbury | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| City of London | 3.7 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 | — | 3.8 | — | — | — |
| Eastern. | |||||||||
| Shoreditch | 1.1 | 14 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Bethnal Green | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Stepney | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Poplar | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Southern. | |||||||||
| South wark | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.8 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Bermondsey | 10 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Lambeth | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Battersea | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Wandsworth | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Camberwell | 1.9 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Deptford | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.4 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Greenwich | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 3.1 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Lewisham | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Woolwich | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | — | 1 | 1 |
| London | 1.5 | 1.66 | 3.16 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 43 | 61 | 104 |
*Including deaths due to abortion except those legally determined to have resulted from criminal
interference.