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
Fulham 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham]
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| LIVE BIRTHS:- | Total. | Males. | Females. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate | 1,798 | 891 | 907 | Birth rate per 1,000 of the estimated population, 13.9 | |
| Illegitimate | 135 | 74 | 61 | ||
| STILLBIRTHS | |||||
| Legitimate | 59 | 25 | 34 | Rate per 1,000 total (live and still) births, 30.6 | |
| Illegitimate | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| DEATHS | 1,817 | 908 | 909 | Death rate per 1,000 of the estimated population: | |
| Crude rate 13.1 | |||||
| Adjusted rate 13.2 | |||||
| Percentage of deaths occurring in public institutions | 64.06 | ||||
| Deaths. | Rate per 1,000 total (live and still) births. | ||||
| Deaths from disease and accidents of pregnancy and childbirth | From sepsis | - | — | ||
| From other causes | 6 | 3.01 | |||
| Death rate of Infants under One Year of Age:— | |||||
| All infants per 1,000 live births | 56 | ||||
| Legitimate infants per 1,000 legitimate live births | 57 | ||||
| Illegitimate infants per 1,000 illegitimate live births | 67 | ||||
| Deaths from:— | |||||
| Cancer (all ages) | 241 | ||||
| Measles (all ages) | 2 | ||||
| Whooping cough (all ages) | 7 | ||||
| Diarrhœa (under two years of age) | 30 | ||||
LOCAL INDUSTRIES.
The main local industries are the borough electrical power station, the gas works, a distillery,
a sugar refinery, printing works, oil and petrol depôts, transport and other distributive trades.
A table of occupations was printed in my Annual Report for 1935.
COMMENTS ON THE VITAL STATISTICS
POPULATION.
The Census taken during 1931 showed that the population of the borough was 150,928, but
the Registrar-General's estimate of the population for the year 1937 was 138,900. This latter figure
has been used for the compilation of the various rates mentioned in this report.
Despite a natural increase (excess of births over deaths) of 116. the Registrar-General estimates
a decrease of 2,400 in the population from mid 1936 to mid 1937. Emigration and immigration in
the London area are very complex, but local knowledge of housing applications, of empty properties
and of overcrowding, rather suggest an under-estimate on the part of the Registrar-General. A
quinquennial census offers many advantages in this and in other directions.
MARRIAGES.
The number of marriages during 1937 was 1,340, and the marriage rate (the number of marriages
per 1,000 of the population) was 9.65; in the previous year the number of marriages was 1,385 and
the rate 9.80.
BIRTHS.
During the year the live births, corrected by the distribution of those occurring in lying-in
institutions in the borough to those districts in which the mothers resided, and the inclusion of children
born to Fulham mothers in institutions outside the borough, numbered 1,933, of whom 965 were males
and 968 were females. The birth rate (the number of live births per 1,000 of the population) was
13.9, a decrease of 1.0 compared with 1936. The birth rate for the Metropolis was 13.4, and for
England and Wales 14.9.