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
Leyton 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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made elsewhere. The other two took their babies with them.
One was an unmarried girl, who had a subacute appendicitis following
the confinement, and who required further rest. The other
suffered from nervous debility. All three stated that they felt
considerably stronger after the short period of convalescence.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
| Cases. | Treated At Home. In Hosp. | Vision Unimpaired. | Vision Impaired. | Total Blindness. | Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notified in the area. 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — |
| Notified outside the area. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — |
Treatment.—These 6 cases were treated as follows:—
| At home | 3 |
| St. Margaret's Hospital | 2 |
| St. Thomas's Hospital | 1 |
| 6 |
Infant and Foetal Mortality.
There were 74 registered deaths of infants under one year of
age, giving an infantile mortality rate of 52.07 per thousand live
births.
Neo-natal Mortality (deaths of infants under one month).—
Of the 74 deaths under one year, 38 occurred in the first four weeks ;
and of the 38 deaths under four weeks, 31 occurred in the first week.
The following figures show the variations in the infantile and neo-natal mortality rates and in the number of stillbirths during the last five-year period.
| Year. | Births. | Deaths under | Mortality Rate. | Stillbirths. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year. | 4 weeks. | Infantile. | Neo-natal. | |||
| 1932 | 1,666 | 89 | 51 | 53.42 | 30.61 | 58 |
| 1933 | 1,499 | 76 | 47 | 50.73 | 31.35 | 48 |
| 1934 | 1,454 | 64 | 38 | 44.02 | 26.13 | 46 |
| 1935 | 1,493 | 60 | 31 | 40.18 | 20.76 | 44 |
| 1936 | 1,421 | 74 | 38 | 52.07 | 26.74 | 44 |
Reference to Table 8 will show that the chief cause of neonatal
deaths was premature birth (21).