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56
Once again the administrative arrangements for convalescence have been undertaken
by the West Ham Branch of the Invalid Children's Aid Association, and are in the capable
hands of their Secretary, Miss Weekes.
Liaison with Children's Officer.
There are frequent consultations and informal discussions between the staff of
the Health & Children's Departments, relating mainly to children in care or "neglected" or
to "problem families". More formal conferences have been convened from time to time by the
Children's Officer and these have proved very helpful in co-ordinating the efforts of the
various Council departments and voluntary organisations. They have been very well attended,
and under the Chairmanship of the Medical Officer of Health, valuable work has been done in
giving continuing support to families which have shown such social inadequacy that they are
unlikely to continue to survive as a family, without such support.
The Council's medical officers visit the 9 "family group" homes and the 2 residential
nurseries to examine the children at regular intervals. They also undertake the regular
medical examination of children boarded out in West Ham, and are available for consultation as
required.
Vital Statistics *
The following are the statistics for 1956 compared with the provisional rates for
England and Wales which have been published by the Registrar General
For West Ham For England and Wales
Stillbirth rate per 1,000 total births 21.9 23.0
Infant Mortality rate per 1,000 live births 24.4 24.0
Neonatal Death rate per 1,000 live births 15.4 16.9
Maternal Mortality rate per 1,000 live births
and stillbirths 1.14 0.56
The stillbirth rate, although higher than last year's, is below that for England
and Wales. The infant mortality rate which is higher than last years is now about the sane
as the national figure, while the neonatal mortality rate is exactly the same as last years
and still below the national rate. The increase has been in the deaths of children between
one month and one year, of Which there were 25 in 1956 as compared with 3.6 in 1955. Four of
these deaths were caused by acute suppurative broncho-pneumonia - a rapidly fatal condition
whose cause is still not fully understood, while 7 of "the babies had congenital malformations.
A full analysis of the causes of infant deaths is given overleaf, and the total
infant deaths and stillbirths combined are shown in the diagram, the number being 119
(63 deaths and 56 stillbirths), an increase of 12 from the previous year in which there were
56 deaths and 51 stillbirths.
The perinatal mortality rate (calculated from the number of stillbirths plus the
number of deaths in the first week of life) is a figure which is increasingly used as an
index of the loss of infant life, due to factors acting in the ante-natal, natal and immediate
post-natal periods. For West Ham this was 35*5 in 1956 as compared with 33.3 in 1955 and
40.1 in 1954. Of the 36 West Ham babies who died in the first week of life, 25 were
premature.