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 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Year | Live births | Still-births | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate per 1,000 population* | No. | Rate per 1,000 total births (live and still) | |
| 1948 | 60,805 | 17.9 | 1,188 | 19.2 |
| 1949 | 56,547 | 16.5 | 1,129 | 19.6 |
| 1950 | 53,660 | 15.8 | 1,055 | 19.3 |
| 1951 | 52,387 | 15.6 | 1,073 | 20.1 |
| 1952 | 51,443 | 15.3 | 1,000 | 19.1 |
| 1953 | 50,992 | 15.3 | 1,088 | 20.9 |
| 1954 | 50,745 | 15.3 | 1,029 | 19.9 |
| 1955 | 49,826 | 15.1 | 1,034 | 20.3 |
| 1956 | 52,171 | 15.9 | 1,070 | 20.1 |
| 1957 | 52,733 | 16.2 | 1,083 | 20.1 |
*1948-49—Total population.
1950— Home population.
Live Births
There were 60,530 live births registered in London in the year; after correction for
residence the final figure of births allocated to London was 52,733, an increase of 562
over 1956, giving a birth rate of 16.2 per 1,000 population, compared with 15.9 in 1956
and 15.1 in 1955. The post-war trend in London followed closely that for England and
Wales until 1956 when the rise in the London rate preceded a similar rise in the country
as a whole, but in 1957 the two rates are again almost identical. The two rates are not
however strictly comparable because the proportion of women of child-bearing age in
the population is greater in London than in England and Wales; adjusting for this
difference by multiplying the crude rate by the Registrar General's areal comparability
factor for London births (0.89) the rate becomes 14.4. This factor makes no allowance
for the differing numerical proportions of married women in London compared with
England and Wales—at the 1951 census the proportion of London women married
at these ages was 95 per cent, of the corresponding proportion for England and Wales.
The crude birth rate for the past 21 years is shown in the diagram (page 6) together
with the national rate and, since 1949, the adjusted birth rate: the true comparative
fertility of London lies somewhere between the lines for the crude rate and adjusted
rate.