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 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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It has been remarked in previous years that a complex of factors probably accounts for
the steeper rise in London— proportionately more single women (37.0 per cent. of those
aged 16-44 years in London compared with 26.9 per cent. in England and Wales), a
continuous influx of unmarried women, many of whom are already pregnant, a high
immigrant element in the population and the facilities which London can offer to an
unmarried mother in the way of anonymity, ante-natal care and (support from moral
welfare organisations.)
The following table gives details of women seen by the moral welfare organisations in the
12 months ended September 1962, from which it will be seen that 940 (25.7 per cent.)
were pregnant on arrival in London and that, in all, 1,565 (42.8 per cent.) were not British.
It should be remembered that these components of the illegitimate births are minima; the
moral welfare organisations do not deal with all unmarried mothers, though doubtless
they will tend to deal with proportionately more of the non-Londoners.
Table (v)—
| British (U.K.) | Eire | European | West Indian | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Londoners pregnant on arrival in London | 506 | (468) | 252 | (308) | 59 | (49) | 78 | (137) | 45 | (29) | 940 | (991) |
| *Non-Londoners not pregnant on arrival in London | 62 | (64) | 53 | (49) | 11 | (8) | 19 | (40) | 14 | (8) | 159 | (169) |
| Resident in London one year or more | 1,527 | (1,306) | 460 | (434) | 104 | (92) | 386 | (260) | 84 | (36) | 2,561 | (2,128) |
| 2,095 | (1,838) | 765 | (791) | 174 | (149) | 483 | (437) | 143 | (73) | 3,660 | (3,288) | |
| * Had lived in London less than 12 months before making contact with moral welfare association. | ||||||||||||
The percentage of illegitimate births for the metropolitan boroughs for the years 1961
and 1962 is shown in table (vi) and range from about five per cent. in Bermondsey to
25 per cent. in Paddington. The table also shows, as at the census 1961, the percentage of
the total female population who were single and aged between 16 and 44 years and the
percentage of all females born outside the United Kingdom, sub-divided into those born
in the Irish Republic, the West Indies, other Commonwealth countries and foreign countries
or at sea. Regrettably, place of birth cannot be related to the specific female population
aged 16-44 years.
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