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
Orpington 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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7
Stillbirths.
The Registrar General's returns for the year show that the
number of stillbirths registered for the area was 18 (after adjustment
for inward and outward transfers), which represents a
stillbirth rate of 18.1 per 1,000 live and still births compared with
25 of the previous year.
Deaths.
636 deaths were recorded during the year, giving a Death
Rate of 10.7 per 1,000 population.
Of this figure. 339 were males and 297 females.
The following table shows the main causes of death :
| 1949. | 1948. | |
|---|---|---|
| Cancer | 99 | 103 |
| Heart and Circulatory Diseases | 310 | 199 |
| Respiratory (non T.B.) | 63 | 39 |
| Tuberculosis | 18 | 18 |
| Infectious Diseases | 10 | 7 |
| Digestive Diseases | 24 | 22 |
| Accident (Road Traffic) | 7 | 6 |
| Other Violent Causes | 10 | 12 |
| Suicide | 10 | 8 |
| Other Causes | 85 | 79 |
| 636 | 493 |
Infant Deaths.
There were 21 deaths of infants under one year of age, giving
an infant mortality rate of 21.5 per 1,000 live births. The fall in
the infant mortality has been maintained since 1941, when the
rate was 51 per 1,000 births, and the average rate since 1934 is
37 per 1,000 births. The highest rate recorded since Orpington
became an Urban District was in 1936, when the rate was 64, and
the lowest that has been recorded was in 1948, viz., 19.
Maternal Mortality.
There was one mother who died in childbirth during 1949.