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
West Ham 1927
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The Infantile Mortality rate for 1927 was 67.4 per 1,000 births. Rate showing ages of children dying under one year.
| 1927 | 1926 | |
|---|---|---|
| Under one day | 15.6% | 12.91% |
| 1—7 days | 9.3% | 15.31% |
| 1—4 weeks | 13.4% | 12.91% |
| 1—3 months | 11.7% | 15.07% |
| 3—6 months | 18.0% | 13.63% |
| 6—12 months | 31.8% | 30.17% |
Of the deaths in infants, 38.3 per cent. occurred under one
month; 50 per cent. under 3 months; and 68 per cent. under 6
months of age.
Congenital conditions and prematurity still play a very large
part in raising the infantile death rate: 149 deaths in 1927 were
due to this cause, i.e., 36.6 per cent.
In the above tables the figures for 1927 correspond very
closely to those for 1926: there were fewer deaths in 1927 during
the age period 1-3 months, perhaps because there has been
less infantile diarrhoea: on the other hand, there is a considerable
increase in 1927 over 1926 at the age period 3-6 months: this may
be accounted for by the increased number of deaths from respiratory
conditions in 1927 (particularly pneumonia and whooping
cough).
Numbers of deaths in age periods:—
1-2 years 116
2-5 years 114
| Cause | 1927 | 1926 | 1925 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congenital debility, malformation, and premature births | 149 | 146 | 141 |
| Pneumonia | 106 | 74 | 81 |
| Bronchitis | 20 | 16 | 22 |
| Other respiratory diseases | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Diarrhoea | 28 | 84 | 81 |
| Measles | 17 | 4 | |
| Scarlet Fever | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Diphtheria | 5 | — | — |
| Whooping Cough | 35 | 8 | 39 |
| Influenza | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Deaths from Violence | 2 | 6 | 19 |
| Other diseases | 53 | 57 | 71 |
Owing to the cold, wet and sunless weather of 1927, the
death rates for different diseases were variously affected. Summer
diarrhoea was not common among babies, and the mortality rate
was only about one-third of the 1926 rate from the same cause.
117