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The Registrar General's Classification of causes in deaths of Infants under 1
year is as follows:-
Gastritis, Enteritis and Diarrhoea 1
Influenza 1
Nephritis and Nephrosis 1
Tuberculosis 1
Accidents 2
Bronchitis 2
Meningococcal Infections 2
Congenital Malformations 11
Pneumonia 15
Other Defined & 111 Defined Diseases 33
TOTAL: 69
Of the 69 Infant Deaths, 43 occurred in Infants who were under 4 weeks of age.
Only two groups of any size are each attributable to one single factor. The first
of these is congenital malformations, which were responsible for 11 of the deaths.
Unfortunately, in the present state of our knowledge, there is little to help us to direct
our efforts towards prevention of these deaths. What knowledge there is, however, points
to the Importance of the nutrition of the mother and her protection from certain specific
Infections. The other large group contains the 15 deaths attributed to pneumonia, 9 of
which were of the acute suppurative type and 3 were primary broncho-pneumonia. In 4 cases
the pneumonia was associated with congenital defects, and in 3 cases with prematurity. In
no case was it associated with measles or whooping cough.
It Is of interest to note that 6 of the deaths from pneumonia occurred between the
17th and 27th December, which is within three weeks of the "smog" which enveloped the area
from the 5th to 8th December. Apart from December the greatest number of deaths from
pneumonia in any one month was 3, during November. Of the 12 deaths from pneumonia which
occurred in 1951. the greatest number in any one month was 5, during April, whereas there
were only 2 in the month of December.
There is still insufficient appreciation of the need to protect the young baby from
respiratory infections to which he may be exposed, both within and outside the family group.
All too often babies are seen in such places as cinemas, buses and underground railways.
Parents have still to be persuaded that fresh air is essential to the baby's health, and
that trivial or chronic complaints such as the common cold, sore throat, nasal and sinus
infections, if caught by the baby, may result In a fatal pneumonia.
In both of the cases where death was attributable to accident, the child was
suffocated whilst in bed.
It will be noted that the Registrar General's Rate for Maternal Mortality is "Nil",
which would appear to be a record for West Ham. Unfortunately, although there was no death
classified by the Registrar as a Maternal Death, one expectant mother did die, in hospital,
at the 34th week of pregnancy, her death being due to advanced heart disease.
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