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 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table 10—Maternal mortality—London and England and Wales 1937-46 (Rates per 1,000 live births)
| 1937 | 1938 | 19u9 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerperal fever:— | ||||||||||
| London | 0.84 | 0.79 | 0.65 | 0.98 | 1.47 | 11.3 | 0.95 | 0.76 | 0.70 | 0.33 |
| England and Wales | 0.98 | 0.89 | 0.77 | 0.82 | 0.85 | 0.80 | 0.75 | 0.62 | 0.50 | 0.32 |
| Other causes:— | ||||||||||
| London | 1.45 | 1.12 | 1.32 | 1.00 | 1.58 | 1.38 | 1.18 | 0.94 | 1.23 | 0.93 |
| England and Wales | 2.28 | 2.19 | 2.16 | 1.88 | 2.01 | 1.76 | 1.60 | 1.38 | 1.34 | 11.5 |
Table 11—Maternal mortality in London 1931-46
| Metropolitan boroughs arranged in topographical order | Childbirth deaths (a) per 1,000 live-births | Number of deaths (b) in childbirth 1946 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-40 | 1941-46 | ||||||||
| Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puer-peral fever | Other causes | Total | |
| Western | |||||||||
| Paddington | 1.9 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Kensington | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | — | 3 | 3 |
| Hammersmith | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Fulham | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | — | 3 | 3 |
| Chelsea | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 11 | 2.1 | 3.2 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Westminster, City of | 2.0 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 3 0 | — | — | — |
| Northern | |||||||||
| St. Marylebone | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 3 | — | 3 |
| Hampstead | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | — | 1 | 1 |
| St. Pancras | 1.4 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Islington | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Stoke Newington | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.4 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Hackney | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Central | |||||||||
| Holborn | 2.1 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 2.2 | — | 2.2 | — | — | — |
| Finsbury | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1 | — | 1 |
| City of London | 3.3 | — | 3.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eastern | |||||||||
| Shoreditch | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Bethnal Green | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Stepney | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Poplar | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 21 | — | — | — |
| Southern | |||||||||
| Southwark | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 11 | 1.7 | — | 4 | 4 |
| Bermondsey | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 21 | 3.2 | — | 3 | 3 |
| Lambeth | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 10 | 1.9 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Battersea | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | — | 4 | 4 |
| Wandsworth | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Camberwell | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Deptford | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Greenwich | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 11 | — | 3 | 3 |
| Lewisham | 11 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 21 | — | 5 | 5 |
| Woolwich | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| London | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 22 | 61 | 83 |
(a) Including deaths due to abortion except that those legally determined to have resulted from
criminal interference have been included only from 1940.
(b) The deaths in childbirth in 1946 are shown in the above table but not the death.rates, as,
owing to the smallness of the figures, the rates for a single year in any metropolitan borough
may be misleading. The maternal mortality.rates for each metropolitan borough in 1946
and for London as a whole are, however, set out in table 3.