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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table 8—
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerperal fever:— | ||||||||||
| London | 0.61 | 0.95 | 1.42 | 1.10 | 0.93 | 0.74 | 0.69 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.35 |
| England and Wales | 1.02 | 0.81 | 0.83 | 0.77 | 0.73 | 0.60 | 0.49 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.23 |
| Other causes:— | ||||||||||
| London | 1.24 | 0.97 | 1.52 | 1.34 | 1.15 | 0.92 | 1.20 | 0.90 | 0.64 | 0.42 |
| England and Wales | 2.11 | 1.87 | 1.97 | 1.71 | 1.50 | 1.33 | 1.31 | 1.12 | 0.91 | 0.78 |
Table 9
| Metropolitan boroughs arranged in divisional order | Childbirth deaths (a) per 1,000 total-births | Number of deaths (b) in childbirth 1948 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-40 | 1941-48 | ||||||||
| Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | |
| Chelsea | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.9 | — | — | — |
| Fulham | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Hammersmith | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Kensington | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Hampstead | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Paddington | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| St. Marylebone | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 | — | — | — |
| St. Pancras | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 3 | — | 3 |
| Westminster, City of | 1.9 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Finsbury | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.0 | — | — | — |
| Holborn | 2.0 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.4 | — | — | — |
| Islington | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Hackney | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | — | — | — |
| Shoreditch | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Stoke Newington | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | — | — | — |
| Bethnal Green | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| City of London | 3.1 | — | 3.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Poplar | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Stepney | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | — | — | — |
| Deptford | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Greenwich | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Woolwich | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Camberwell | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Lewisham | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bermondsey | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.4 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Lambeth | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Southwark | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Battersea | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Wandsworth | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| London County | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 22 | 26 | 48 |
(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 1948 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 1948
and for London as a whole are, however, set out in table 2.