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
Harrow 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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born prematurely, two suffered from congenital defects, two succumbed to
pneumonia and in one the cause of death was ascribed to want of attention
at birth.
The number of those who survived one month but failed to survive
twelve months was in fact smaller than in the previous year when in all
there were only 47 infant deaths. Of the 11, the cause of death of three
was some developmental abnormality. Infections accounted for most of the
remaining fatalities, bronchitis or broncho-pneumonia causing the deaths
of four and gastro-enteritis of one.
The following figures show the success in the saving of infant lives in those who have lived one week, the improvement in the perinatal mortality for some years, but its present stationary position in the country as a whole:
| 1928/29 | 38/39 | 48/49 | '50 | '51 | '52 | '53 | '54 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stillbirths and deaths under 1 week | 61 | 58 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 38 |
| 1 week to 1 year | 46 | 29 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Stillbirths
58 stillbirths were registered last year. This was a rate per thousand
population of 0.27 and a rate per thousand live and stillbirths of 20.4.
The rate per thousand births for the country as a whole was 23.0.
Of the 54 stillbirths about which particulars are known, all but lour
were to mothers confined in hospital. Of these, two were born in an
ambulance on the way to hospital; in one the mother had made no arrangements
at all for her confinement and in the last, the only one occurring
in a mother who had intended to be delivered at home, because of an
ante-partum haemorrhage she had to be removed to hospital.
Of those stillbirths lost to mothers confined in hospital, in six labour
was premature for no ascertained reason; in 11 labour was complicated.
In many instances some condition of the mother either caused the death ot
the foetus, or resulted in a premature delivery; in 14 of these the mother
suffered from toxaemia, one from nephritis, two from hydramnios, while
four had ante-partum haemorrhage. Three of the stillbirths demonstrated
some congenital abnormality and one was one of a twin delivery.
Death of Infants 1 to 5 years of Age
A child who survives the first year of life enters a period when the
probability of dying is very small. Some survive their first birthday