London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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West Ham 1897

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]

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I propose to use the latter population, in preference to the estimate of the Registrar.General, in calculating the mortality rates.

Ward.Approximate No. of Inhabited Houses in each of the Four Wards.
Stratford7,791
Forest Gate13,100
Plaistow12,161
Canning Town8,887
Total41,939

Births.—8,761 births were registered in the year, being an
increase of 242 over the registered births of the previous year, and
giving an annual birth-rate of 33.1 per 1,000. The birth-rate of the
33 largest English towns was the same as that of the year 1896,
namely 30.7. Of these, the only towns where the recorded birth-rate
exceeded that of West Ham, were Gateshead.(35.8), Wolverhampton
(35.5), Liverpool (35.3), Salford (35.1), Sheffield (34.4), Sunderland
(34.6), Hull (33.4), Birmingham (33.3), Manchester (33.2).

The registration districts of the northern half of the Borough are not co.terminous with the Municipal Wards, and therefore, in distributing the births to their respective Wards, Stratford and Forest Gate must be joined together.

Ward.Births.Birth.rate per 1,000 of Population.
Stratford Registration District1,72225.8
Forest Gate „ „1,677
Plaistow2,90637.9
Canning Town2,45642.0

The mean birth-rate during the past 10 years (1888-97), was 36.42
per 1,000, and the mean birth-rate of London during the same period
was 30.96 per 1,000.
The percentage variation above and below the mean in the
respective districts can be seen by the Table following.
Percentage variation above and below mean birth-rate during 10
years, 1888-1897, in London and West Ham.