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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
it came about a woman who died in December was not certified, so far as the cause
of death was concerned, by the Coroner until January, 1948.
It is, of course, a noteworthy achievement to have a year where officially there
are no maternal deaths and you will all be sorry to hear of the reservation I have
put on this official figure.
I always feel very diffident about boasting of such matters as this, but the fact
that we had no maternal death in nearly two thousand births must, I think, be
regarded at least as a step in the right direction.
Infant Mortality.
This is defined as the deaths under one year of age registered in the calendar
year divided by the total live births so registered. In 1947 there were 1,850 live
births and 58 deaths under 1 year. This gives a rate of 31.35 per 1,000 births as
against a general rate of 41 for England and Wales as a whole. The 1946 rate in
Barking was 32.79.
The number of births in Barking is not sufficient to make the infant mortality
rate for one year a reliable guide, but the same index taken over five years can be
looked upon as reasonably reliable and on the opposite page is given a diagram
showing the rates for the five year periods since 1927.
In Appendix A, Table IV shows the comparative Infant Mortality Rates for
Barking and the rest of the Country since 1926.
Neo-Natal Mortality. Of the 58 babies under one year of age who died in
1947 as many as 33, or 57 per cent., died in the first month of life. Even more
striking is the fact that 27 of these 33 babies died within seven days of birth. As
is usual prematurity was the greatest single cause of death.
Stillbirths.
During the year there were 31 stillbirths in 1,881 total births. This gives a
rate of 16.4 per 1,000 total births. The 1946 figure for Barking was 28.1, compared
with 28 for England and Wales.
The causes of death in the neo-natal and stillbirth groups are largely due to
pre-natal or natal influences, whilst home environment is a significant factor in the
deaths occurring in the age group one month to one year.
As I have mentioned, prematurity is the commonest cause of death in the
neo-natal period. In addition more than half of stillbirths are premature The
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