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26
The following special report on Infantile Mortality was
issued by the late Dr. By water in the early part of January,
1914:—
Infant Mortality.
"In my Monthly Report for October, 1913, I set out an
extract from the Report on Infant and Child Mortality,
which has recently been issued by the Local Government
Board. This Report deals with facts relating to 241 urban
areas whose populations vary from 20,000 to 750,000. Data
for this Report were obtained from the Medical Officers of
Health of the various towns who were requested to supply
information under certain headings. This mass of information
has been analysed by the Medical Officer of the Board,
with the result that it is now possible to ascertain the relative
position in respect of Infantile Mortality of any of the 241
districts comprised within the scope of the Report. That of
Finchley is so favourable that I thought it worthy of remark.
The Medical Officer requested figures relating to the Infant
Death-Rate (a) in the 4 years immediately preceding
1911 (i.e., 1907-1910); and (b) in the year 1911; the idea
being to get the general level of Infant Mortality in the districts
before and in the year 1911, in which, as you may
recall, the prolonged spell of hot and dry weather placed
infant life in such jeopardy.
For this year (1911) detailed information was also requested
as to any variation of the Infant Mortality in the
various wards or divisions of each district.
I need not again set out the extract in full, but it will
suffice for my purpose to say that the average Infant Death
Rate in Finchley, for the 4 years preceding 1911, was 72.3
per 1,000 births; and in 1911 (the Diarrhoea year) actually
below the average of the preceding 4 years but, of course,
considerably higher than in 1910.
The variation of the Rate in the 3 Wards in 1911 was
as follows:—
North Finchley 70.7
Bast Finchley 96.4
West Finchley 53.7