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 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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INFANT MORTALITY
Mortality per 1,000 live births
The distribution of causes of death in the first four weeks of life in descending order of magnitude in 1955 and 1956 was as follows:
| Cause | No. of deaths | Per cent of total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1956 | 1955 | 1956 | |
| Immaturity | 231 | 213 | 27.7 | 25.7 |
| Post-natal asphyxia and atelectasis | 212 | 188 | 25.4 | 22.7 |
| Injury at birth | 128 | 137 | 15.3 | 16.5 |
| Congenital malformations | 104 | 122 | 12.5 | 14.7 |
| Pneumonia of newborn | 44 | 50 | 5.3 | 6.0 |
| Gastro-enteritis and diarrhoea | 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| All other causes | 114 | 119 | 13.7 | 14.3 |
| Total | 834 | 830 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
In the same way that there has been no perceptible trend in neo-natal mortality
there has been nothing remarkable in the pattern of causes. The order of ranking is
the same in 1956 as it was in 1955; immaturity and post-natal asphyxia and atelectasis
accounted for nearly half the deaths, nearly all of which occurred in the first seven
days and just over half of them in the first day. Birth injuries accounted for 16.5 per
cent., slightly higher than in the previous two years but below the level of 1951 and
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