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
Walthamstow 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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71
For the last ten years in England and Wales the neo-natal
deaths have been approximately half the deaths under one year
of age.
Stillbirths.
Stillbirths were reduced to 46, yielding the lowest rate ever
recorded per 1,000 population, i.e., 0.37.
Infant Deaths, NeoNatal Mortality and Stillbirths
| Year. | Live Births. | Birth Rate. | Stillbirths. | Neo-Natal Deaths. | Infant Deaths. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Per 1,000 live births. | Per 1,000 population. | No. | Per 1,000 live births. | No. | Per 1,000 live births. | ||||
| W'stow. | England & Wales. | |||||||||
| 1948 .. | 2,068 | 16.8 | 46 | 22.2 | 0.37 | 24 | 11.1 | n/a | 43 | 20 |
| 1947 .. | 2,670 | 21.8 | 59 | 22.1 | 0.48 | 35 | 13.1 | 23.0 | 77 | 29 |
| 1946 .. | 2,544 | 21.5 | 70 | 27.5 | 0.59 | 49 | 19.2 | 24.5 | 87 | 34 |
| 1945 .. | 1,713 | 16.5 | 56 | 32.6 | 0.54 | 36 | 21.0 | 24.8 | 66 | 38 |
| 1944 .. | 1,915 | 18.9 | 52 | 27.1 | 0.51 | 40 | 20.8 | 24.3 | 71 | 37 |
The neo-natal mortality for England and Wales is shown for
comparison for the years 1944—1948 and is consistently higher
than the Walthamstow rates.
The death rate from Diarrhœa and Enteritis in children under
one year of age per 1,000 live births was 0.9.
TOTAL INFANT MORTALITY
This is defined as the sum of the deaths that occur during
child birth and during the first year of life.
The attached graph shows the position since 1930 and the
steady fall since 1945 in the Infant Mortality and the Stillbirth
rates. For the third time since 1930 the Infant Mortality rate has
fallen below the Stillbirth rate.