View report page

WYATTS LANE WAR-TIME DAY NURSERY.
MEDICAL REPORT FOR 1942.
Dr.Helen Rodway reports as follows:-
The Nursery was opened for the care of children under five,
whose mothers were employed on war work or in other occupations.
Twenty-eight children were admitted on the first day; on
December 31st., there was a total of seventy-four children on
the Nursery Register, with an average attendance from Monday to
Friday, during that month, of 52.7 children.
All children were given a medical examination as early as
possible after admission to the Nursery and subsequent
examinations were arranged at three-monthly intervals. Every
child was immunised against diphtheria and in 56 cases against
whooping cough. No child who was immunised against whooping
cough had contracted the disease up to the end of January 1943.
The majority of children at their first examination were
found to be adequately nourished and healthy, although a
surprisingly large number suffered from a catarrhal condition
of the upper air passages, in some cases associated with
enlarged spongy tonsils and in others with bronchial catarrh.
There were few cases of dental caries. Minor degrees of rickets
and anaemia required treatment and in most cases response to
treatment was good. There were not more than three early cases
of scabies and three of a staphylococcal eruption.
The infectious diseases were as follows:Measles,
39; Scarlet Fever, 6; Whooping Cough, 6 (not confirmed
by cough plate); Rubella, 2; Chickenpox, 2.
INFANT MORTALITY.
The deaths of infants under one year of age were:-
Males Females Total.
Legitimate 36 31 67
Illegitimate 2 1 3
Totals 38 32 70
The death rates of infants under one year of age per 1,000
lire births when calculated on the totals given by the RegistrarGeneral
are, therefore;-
Legitimate, 40; Illegitimate, 53; Total, 40.
The Infant Mortality Rate for other areas during 1942 was
as follows:-
England and Wales 49
126 County Boroughs & Great Towns (including
London) 59
148 Smaller Towns (25,000 to 50,000) 46
London 60
NE0-NATAL MORTALITY.
The neo-natal mortality is the number of deaths of infants
under one month per 1,000 live births. During 1942, 35 infants
died in the first four weeks of life, yielding a rnte of 20.3
For the last ten years in England and ales the neo-natal
deaths have been approximately one-half of the total deaths under
one year of age.
The following rates refer to Walthamstow:-
25.