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 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table 8—Maternal mortality—London and England and Wales 1940.49 (Rates per 1,000 total births)
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerperal fever:— London | 0.95 | 1.42 | 1.10 | 0.93 | 0.74 | 0.69 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.35 | 0.24 |
| England and Wales | 0.81 | 0.83 | 0.77 | 0.73 | 0.60 | 0.49 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.22 |
| Other causes:— London | 0.97 | 1.52 | 1.34 | 1.15 | 0.92 | 1.20 | 0.90 | 0.64 | 0.42 | 0.45 |
| England and Wales | 1.87 | 1.97 | 1.71 | 1.56 | 1.33 | 1.31 | 1.12 | 0.91 | 0.78 | 0.76 |
Table 9—Maternal mortality in London 1931-49
| Metropolitan boroughs arranged in divisional order | Childbirth deaths (a) per 1,000 total-births | Number of deaths (b) in childbirth 1949 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-40 | 1941-49 | ||||||||
| Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | Puerperal fever | Other causes | Total | |
| 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | - | - | - | |
| Fulham | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Hammersmith | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | — | 2 | 2 |
| Kensington | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | — | — | — |
| 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Paddington | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2 | — | 2 |
| St. Marylebone | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | — | — | — |
| St. Pancras | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Westminster, City of | 1.9 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Holborn | 2.0 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.0 | — | — | — |
| Islington | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | — | 3 | 3 |
| 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | - | - | - | |
| Shoreditch | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Stoke Newington | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | — | — | — |
| 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 | - | 1 | 1 | |
| City of London | 3.1 | — | 3.1 | — | — | — | - | — | — |
| Poplar | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | - | 4 | 4 |
| Stepney | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | - | 1 | 1 |
| 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | - | - | - | |
| Greenwich | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Woolwich | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Lewisham | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | - | - | - | |
| Lambeth | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | — | — | — |
| Southwark | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | — | 2 | 2 |
| 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Wandsworth | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | — | 1 | 1 |
| London County | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 14 | 26 | 40 |
(а) 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 1949 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 1949 and for London as a whole are,
however, set out in Table 2.