[Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, County of the Soke of Peterborough.
- Peterborough (England). County Council.
- Date:
- 1946
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, County of the Soke of Peterborough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![INFANT MORTALITY V According to the Registrar-General there were 39 deaths in infants under 1 year of age in the County of the Soke of Peterborough, 35 being assigned to the City of Peterborough: 31 ( 15 males and 16 females) were legitimate, and 4(2 males and 2 females) illegitimate. There were 3 deaths In the Peterborough Rural District ( 1m male and 2 females) all 3 being legitimate. There was one death in a legitimate male baby in the Barrack Rural District. The number and rates in each district and in the administrative County per 1000 births are •- Number Rate City of Peterborough 35 36.1 Peterborough Rural District 3 21.6 Barnack Rural District 1 • 19 .6 Administrative County ■ 39 33.6 In England and Wales as a whole the infant mortality rate was 43; for the 143 Great Towns 45; for the 148 smaller towns 37, and for London 41. I have records of 40 infant deaths-, one more than the Registrar- General, 15 being due to prematurity.' 7 of these were males, one living for 15 r inutes1*1 two for 3 days: one for 4 days; two for 6 days: and one for 7 days. 8 were females, one living for 4 hours; one for 8 hours; one for 12 hours; and L for 24 hours: two lived for 3 days' one fdr 5 days', and the last' for 14 days. Thete wore 7 infant deaths from pneumonia,-3 in males from broncho¬ pneumonia, at ages of 2 months, 4 months, and 5 months respectively. Four deaths occurred in females, 2 being due to lobar pneumonia, aged 3 months, and 5 months, a'nd two being due to broncho-pneumonia., aged 3 weeks and 7 months. Last year there were, also 7 deaths from various forms of pneumonia in infants - rather disappointing considering the effective treatment available both by sulphonamides and penicillin. There were 5 deaths from gastro-enteritis, 3 in males aged 1. week, 3 weeks, and 7 months, and two in females aged 1 month and 5 months. It is noteworthy that three of the give cases occurred in infants of one month and under. There were two deaths in males from congenital heart disease, ane aged 11 hours, and one aged 3 weeks, and one death in a female aged 18 hours. There were 3 deaths from congenital deformity. One female .was born with the head and brain imcoinplete and lived for 2 days] o.ne male and one female aged 3 days and 1 week respectively died from imperforate anus. Two deaths were due to accidents - a male at 10 months from burns, and one (' a female) from asphyxiation from the inhalation of milk. Three deaths were due to injuries at birth, Two males living for 2 days only, and 1 female lived for 3 days. There was one death from oedema of the glottis in a female aged 1 month. It will seen that 25 of the 40 deaths occurred in infants under the age of 1 week, 12 being males and 13 females. 15 of the 25 were due to prematurity. It is obvious that infant welfare centres can have no effect upon lo§£ of life at this period*. What is required is increased and improved ante-natal care of the mother. In the first.place it must be confessed that prematurity is much commoner among the poor, the figures for the well-to-do being 105. as compared, with 196 among the poor. Is is therefore essential that free ante-natal care should be- easily available for the poor and that an adequate diet be provided.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29988160_0016.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
