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
Marylebone 1919
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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41
STATISTICAL.
BIRTHS.
Registration.—The number of births registered during 1919 was 1,492*, being
117 more than in 1918. Of the children born, 764 were boys and 728 girls. The
birth rate per 1,000 of the population was 14.6 as against 12.4 in 1918.
The accompanying table contains a comparison of the rates in the several registration sub-districts and the Borough as a whole for 1919, with those of each of the years since 1913:—
| 1913. | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. | 1919. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Souls | 13.6 | 15.4 | 13.3 | 14.4 | 12.8 | 11.1 | 12.0 |
| St. Mary | 12.8 | 13.9 | 11.2 | 12.2 | 8.8 | 8.6 | 10.5 |
| Christ Church | 28.2 | 26.8 | 22.9 | 22.9 | 19.3 | 15.4 | 22.6 |
| St. John's | 18.8 | 17.1 | 18.6 | 17.3 | 17.5 | 15.3 | 12.5 |
| The Borough | 18.6 | 18.7 | 16.2 | 16.9 | 14.5 | 12.4 | 14.6 |
Notifications.—The total number of notifications received during the year under
the Notification of Births Act, 1907, was 3,779. The provisions of the Act are now
very generally known, and the necessity for notifying is not less well recognised than
that for registration. Failures to notify within 36 hours of birth, as required, were
comparatively few. In such cases as there was failure, a perfectly reasonable
explanation was forthcoming, and it was not considered necessary to take proceedings
against any of the parties.
The main sources of the notifications are set out below. The figures, it may be
noted, refer to notifications and not to births. In some cases duplicate notifications,
from different sources, were received with regard to the same birth.
No. Per cent.
From parents 115 3.05
,, doctors 321 8.4
,, midwives 785 20.7
„ other persons 100 2.6
„ hospitals, etc. 2,458 65.4
3,779
Of the total births notified, 179 referred to still-hirths (96 males and 83 females):
1,974 took place at Queen Charlotte's Hospital; 262 at Middlesex Hospital 222 at
* This figure is exclusive of births occurring in the Borough to persons usually non-resident therein, but includes 153 births which occurred outside the district, and which have been transferred as belonging to St. Marylebone:—
| Legitimate Males | 67 |
| ,, Females | 53 |
| Illegitimate Males | 21 |
| ,, Females | 12 |