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 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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COMPARATIVE INFANT MORTALITY RATES
| Year | Barking | County Boroughs and Great Towns, including London | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 66.1 | 71 | 69 |
| 1928 | 63.3 | 70 | 65 |
| 1929 | 53.4 | 79 | 74 |
| 1930 | 61.3 | 64 | 60 |
| 1931 | 64.4 | 71 | 66 |
| 1932 | 53.4 | 69 | 65 |
| 1933 | 55.6 | 67 | 64 |
| 1934 | 56.7 | 63 | 59 |
| 1935 | 52.2 | 62 | 57 |
| 1936 | 56.07 | 63 | 59 |
| 1937 | 53.8 | 62 | 58 |
| 1938 | 39.5 | 57 | 53 |
| 1939 | 33.91 | 53 | 50 |
| 1940 | 32.98 | 61 | 56 |
| 1941 | 36.3 | 71 | 60 |
| 1942 | 35.68 | 59 | 49 |
| 1943 | 37.2 | 58 | 49 |
| 1944 | 28.35 | 52 | 46 |
| 1945 | 38.56 | 54 | 46 |
| 1946 | 32.79 | 46 | 43 |
| 1947 | 31.35 | 47 | 41 |
| 1948 | 20.53 | 39 | 34 |
| 1949 | 24.8 | 37 | 32 |
| 1950 | 27.0 | 33.8 | 29.8 |
| 1951 | 15.49 | 33.9 | 29.6 |
INFANT MORTALITY
It will be seen from the preceding tables that during 1951 a total of
18 Barking children died under the age of one year. Of this total 12 died
within the first month of life, with prematurity being given as the cause of
death in 8 of these cases. Not one of these deaths occurred amongst illegitimate
children.
The infant mortality rate for Barking for 1951 is 15.49 and the table on
this page gives the rates for the past 25 years. Although it gives me great
pleasure to report this new record, I would like to point out that definite
trends should not be gauged from the statistics of any one year in a town
the size of Barking. It is comforting to know, however, that the average
infant mortality rate in Barking for the past 5 years is 24.4. This is
below the rates for England and Wales for the same period.
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