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 1952

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

This page requires JavaScript

Text

Copy text to clipboard

13
There is some irregularity in the decline in both sets of rates and the margin between
them has varied in extent. In London there was a wartime increase arising from the
severe conditions, but this setback was soon recovered at the end of the war. The
reduction in infant mortality in the past fifty years is a result of many factors and they
INFANT MORTALITY
MORTALITY PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS
have mainly been effective against the causes of death (principally infections, diarrhoeal
or respiratory), which do not operate until after the first few weeks of life. Deaths
within the first four weeks of life, which result mainly from prematurity, congenital
malformations and injury at birth, have been more resistant to reduction.