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
Barking 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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The age at which the last child was weaned is given in the following table :—
| 1 mth. | 2 mths. | 3 mths. | 4 mths. | 5 mths. | 6 mths. | 7 mths. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 32 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 7 |
| 1912 | 34 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
| 8 mths. | 9 mths. | 10 mths. | 11 mths. | 12 mths. | over 12 mths. | ||
| 1911 | 3 | 59 | 14 | 13 | 228 | 46 | |
| 1912 | 17 | 72 | 33 | 16 | 96 | 127 | |
The following gives some idea as to the reason of death
in the first year other than its immediate cause.
The figures are not strictly comparable, as the deaths that occur in one year in some cases refer to births that occurred in the previous year:—
| Total number. | No. dying within first year. | |
|---|---|---|
| Attended by Doctors | 382 | 45 |
| Attended by Midwives | 556 | 35 |
| Mother Defective or Ill | 12 | 12 |
| Opthalmia Neonatorum | 16 | 3 |
| Breast Fed | 746 | 41 |
| Artificial Feeding | 44 | 2 |
| Mixed | 13 | 1 |
| Mother Employed | 16 | 1 |
| Cradle Used | 243 | 9 |
| Dirty Houses | 61 | 8 |
| Illegitimates | 9 | 2 |
In the present instance it would hardly fulfil a useful
purpose to deduce any conclusion from the above except that
the death-rate is apt to be very high amongst illegitimates,
those reared in dirty houses, and such in whom eye troubles
develop in the course of the first week or so. These are, however,
such as common sense would have led us to expect.