London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Shoreditch 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
This page requires JavaScript
79
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF SHOREDITCH.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
To the Chairman and Members of the Health Committee.
Gentlemen,
In accordance with your instructions I submit for your consideration the
subjoined report on the subject of the infantile mortality of the Borough to which
in his letters, dated June 4th and 11th, 1913, Dr. Addison, M.P., directs attention
and for the amelioration of which he makes suggestions.
In the following table, therefore, are shown the infantile mortalities for Shoreditch and London from 1870 to 1909 inclusive, averaged for eight quinquennial periods, and also the general death-rates similarly averaged ; the rates for the years 1910-1912 inclusive are also stated:—
| Period. | Shoreditch. | London. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infantile | General | Infantile | General | |
| Mortality. | Death-rate. | Mortality. | Death-rate. | |
| 1870-74 | 162 | 24.5 | 161 | 22.9 |
| 1875-79 | 154 | 23.9 | 155 | 22.5 |
| 1880-84 | 160 | 23.8 | 152 | 21.2 |
| 1885-89 | 172 | 23.3 | 150 | 19.4 |
| 1890-94 | 175 | 23.7 | 154 | 20.1 |
| 1895-99 | 196 | 22.6 | 164 | 18.7 |
| 1900-04 | 187 | 20.9 | 144 | 17.0 |
| 1905-09 | 153 | 19.4 | 119 | 15.2 |
| 1910 | 147 | 16.8 | 103 | 13.7 |
| 1911 | 170 | 20.2 | 129 | 15.0 |
| 1912 | 128 | 18.3 | 91 | 13.6 |
During the first two of the periods given there was practically no difference
between the infantile mortalities of Shoreditch and London. In connection with
this it is worthy of mention that the proportion of well-to-do people in Shoreditch
was considerably greater then than at the present time. From the second