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
Croydon 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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In 45 cases the baby was born at full term; in 19 during the
8th month of gestation; in 11 during the 7th month. The babywas
apparently a normal child in 56 cases, abnormal in 9, whilst
in 11 no record was available.
The still birth was the first pregnancy in 37 instances; the
2nd in 13; the 3rd in 9; the 4th in 6; the 5th in 5; the 6th in 3;
and the 7th in 3.
Previous still births had occurred in 16 cases.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Twenty-one cases were notified during 1937.
The following table gives the notifications in Croydon during
the oast eleven vears :—
Table III.
| 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of cases | 18 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 21 |
| Rate per 1000 births | 5.7 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 6 3 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 6.2 | 6.4 |
Results of Treatment.
Table IV.
| Cases treated. | Vision Unimpaired. | Vision Impaired. | Died, | Removed | Remaining under Treatment. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notified | At home | In hospital | |||||
| 21 | 9 | 10 | 18 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Infant Mortality.
The Infantile Mortality rate was 60 per 1,000 births. This is
19 per 1,000 births more than in 1936.
For the past 5 years the numbers of infant deaths have been :
1933, 148; 1934, 145; 1935, 147; 1936, 134; 1937, 195. 142
deaths of infants occurred in institutions, including Registered
Nursing Homes.
Among the 195 deaths, 116 occurred in boy babies and 79 in
girls. Of the births, 1,654 were males and 1,609 females. The
infantile mortality rate for the two sexes was, therefore :—Boys,
girls, 49.
The rate of infant mortality amongst illegitimate children
was 193 per 1,000. The rate in legitimate children was 54 per
1,000.