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
Stepney 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]
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26
Infantile Mortality.
550 infants died under 1 year of age, or 113 less than in the previous
year.
165 belonged to the Limehouse District, or at the rate of 98 per
1,000 births.
74 belonged to St. George^in-the-East, or at the rate of 77 per
1,000 births.
231 belonged to Mile End Old Town, or at the rate of 89 per
1,000 births.
80 belonged to the Whitechapel District, or at the rate of 83 per
1,000 births.
The infantile mortality for the whole of the Borough was 89 per 1,000
births, while that for London was 80 per 1,000.
Of the 78 illegitimate births, 16 died before they were a twelvemonth
old, or at the rate of 205 per 1,000.
This is a very high infantile mortality when compared with that of
76 per 1,000 among the legitimate births in the Borough.
The average infantile mortality for five-year periods from 1890-1919, and for the year 1921:—
| Limehiuse. | Si. George's. | Mile End. | Whitechapel. | Whole Borough. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890-1894 | 186 | 197 | 175 | 163 | 178 |
| 1895-1899 | 204 | 187 | 166 | 147 | 168 |
| 1900-1904 | 201 | 162 | 148 | 135 | 157 |
| 1905-1909 | 153 | 142 | 120 | 112 | 129 |
| 1910-1914 | 143 | 137 | 112 | 103 | 122 |
| 1915-1919 | 107 | 123 | 90 | 93 | 100 |
| 1920 | 86 | 98 | 84 | 98 | 90 |
| 1921 | 98 | 77 | 89 | 83 | 89 |
There were 67 sets of twins born during the year.
Return of births notified under the Notification of Births Act during the year:—
| Number notified by medical practitioners | 1,190 |
| Number notified by midwives | 3,137 |
| Number notified by miscellaneous Institutions | 695 |
| Number notified by the London Hospital | 164 |
| Number notified by the East End Mothers' Home (396, Commercial Road) | 608 |
| Number notified by parents | 51 |
| Total | 5,845 |
In addition 159 Stillbirths were notified.