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
Wimbledon 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wimbledon]
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INFANTILE MORTALITY.
During 1953 there were 12 deaths in infants under one year of
age, giving an infantile mortality rate for Wimbledon of 16.24 per
thousand live births, as compared with a rate of 26.8 for England and
Wales.
9 of the 12 deaths occurred during the first four weeks of life,
giving a neo-natal death-rate of 12.18 per thousand live births.
The following table shows the causes of and ages at death.
| Cause of death | Under 1 week | 1-2 weeks | 2-3 weeks | 3-4 weeks | Total under 4 weeks | 1-3 months | 3-6 months | 6-9 months | 9-12 months | Total Deaths under 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congenital defect or birth injury | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | _ | _ | - | 4 |
| Prematurity | 5 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Pneumonia | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Gastro-Enteritis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Accidental Death | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Total | 8 | 1 | - | - | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 12 |