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9
NOTEWORTHY CAUSES OF SICKNESS.
The Ministry of Health require information as to any causes of sickness or
invalidity which have been specially noteworthy in the area during the year; any
conditions of occupation or environment which appear to have had a prejudicial
effect on health; and any evidence, statistical or otherwise, that unemployment has
exercised any significant influence on the health or physique of children or adults.
There is nothing to report in respect of any of the questions raised by the Ministry
under this head.
POPULATION.
The civilian population of the Borough for the year 1940, as estimated by the
Registrar-General, is 62,240, and this figure is used in calculating the various rates
given in this report. Owing to abnormal fluctuations in movements of population
throughout the Borough as a result of the war, and the consequent inability to present
figures with any degree of accuracy, it has been decided reluctantly to discontinue
for the time being certain tables of vital statistics, relating to the four sub-districts
of St. Marylebone, which have been a feature of these reports for many years. For
information, the sub-district populations at the last census year (1931) were as
follow : All Souls, 22,380; St. Mary, 25,667; Christ Church, 29,636; St. John,
19,937 ; giving a total population of 97,620 for the Borough for that year.
BIRTHS.
Registration.—The number of births registered during 1940 was 530, being
307 less than in 1939. Of the children born, 271 (235 legitimate; 36 illegitimate) were
boys and 259 (214 legitimate; 45 illegitimate) girls. The birth rate per 1,000 of the
population was 8.52 as against 9.06 in 1939.
Notification.—The total number of notifications received during the year,
under the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, Section 255, was 1,838; live births,
1,767; stillbirths, 71. The total notifications in 1939 was 3,177. The main sources
of the notifications are set out below. In some cases duplicate notifications from
different sources were received with regard to the same birth.
From parents 4
,, doctors 11
,, midwives 88
„ hospitals, nursing homes, etc. 1,735
1,838
Of the total births notified, 984 took place at Queen Charlotte's Hospital;
320 at Middlesex Hospital; 163 at Paddington Hospital; and 120 were born at
home. Of those notified as having occurred in St. Marylebone, 1,366 belonged to
other Boroughs. Of the 71 stillbirths (39 males and 32 females) notified direct to the
Department, 7 (5 males and 2 females) were to St. Marylebone mothers. In addition,
information from other sources received through the Registrar-General brought the
total number of stillbirths allocated to St. Marylebone to 15—10 males (8 legitimate;
2 illegitimate) and 5 females (3 legitimate; 2 illegitimate).
MARRIAGES.
The total number of marriages in the Borough during the year was 1,495, being
410 below the number for 1939, and 4 above the average for the last 10 years. The
rate for persons married in 1940 was therefore 48 per 1,000 of the estimated civilian
population.
DEATHS.
Registration.—The number of deaths registered in 1940 was 1,223. This
figure is inclusive of persons who, though normally resident in the Borough, died in
institutions outside, but exclusive of persons who, though they died in St. Marylebone,
were ordinarily resident in other parts of England or Wales. Deaths of persons