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
Shoreditch 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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92
STILL BIRTHS
The following table gives a comparison between live and still births notified
for the last ten years:—
Table No. 83
| Year | Live births notified | Still births notified | Total births notified | Percentage of still births to total births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 1,953 | 53 | 2,006 | 2.64 |
| 1930 | 1,891 | 38 | 1,929 | 1.97 |
| 1931 | 1,648 | 50 | 1,698 | 2.94 |
| 1932 | 1,635 | 54 | 1,689 | 3.20 |
| 1933 | 1,448 | 51 | 1,499 | 3.40 |
| 1934 | 1,425 | 38 | 1,463 | 2.59 |
| 1935 | 1,266 | 44 | 1,310 | 3.36 |
| 1936 | 1,246 | 42 | 1,288 | 3.26 |
| 1937 | 1,224 | 36 | 1,260 | 2.86 |
| 1938 | 1,214 | 36 | 1,250 | 2.88 |
HOME VISITING
The number of visits paid by the health visitors during the year was 24,520.
Of these 1,219 were first visits, 3,401 were subsequent visits to infants of under
one year, and 10,527 visits to children between one year and five years of age. These
figures should be compared with 1,236, 3,228 and 8,778 for 1937. A summary of the
work done by the health visitors appears below. Further particulars will be found
in table No. 85.
Table No. 84
| Number of first visits to infants | 1,219 |
| Number of first visits to children one to five years | 587 |
| Number of re-visits to infants | 3,401 |
| Number of re-visits to children one to five years | 9,940 |
| Number of visits to still births | 34 |
| Number of visits to ophthalmia cases | 43 |
| Expectant mothers—first visits | 891 |
| Expectant mothers—re-visits | 941 |
| Puerperal Fever—first visits and re-visits | 2 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia—first visits and re-visits | 14 |
| Number of futile visits | 3,664 |
In addition to the above visits the health visitors interviewed mothers on 3,818
occasions.