[Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council.

  • Shropshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    These figures agree with the statement of the Registrar-General “ that broadly speaking the fertility rates are high in nearly all the mining counties and low in the agricultural counties.” As explained in previous reports these crude rates are very misleading when used for com¬ paring one district with another, on account of the difference in the age distribution ol the popu¬ lation. This is most marked when a typically urban district is compared with a typically rural one, or the combined urban districts with the combined rural districts. The following table, giving the birth-rates for (i) England and Wales, (2) the Administrative County of Shropshire, and (3) the Urban, and (4) the Rural Districts of Shropshire, calculated on the whole population of the district, and also calculated on the number of females between 15 and 45, the active child-bearing ]ieriod, shows this very clearly. Birth-rates for 1908 calculated (i) on the whole population, {2) on females between 15 and 45. Birth-rates calculated on the whole population. Birth-rates calculated on the number of females between 15 and 45 years of age. England & Wales 25.6 102 Shropshire (Administrative County) 23.8 108 Shropshire—Urban Districts 24.2 104 Shropshire—Rural Districts 23.5 112 Calculated in this way, which is undoubtedly the correct one, the Rural Districts of Shrop¬ shire have consistently each year a higher birth-rate than the Urban Districts, and also a rate higher than that of England & Wales. For the following table the same method of calculation has been applied to the sanitary districts of the County :— Table 4. Birth-Rates for 1909 per 1,000 Females living between the Ages 15 and 45. URBAN DISTRICTS. RURAL DISTRICTS. Bishop’s Castle 141 Atcham . . 114 Bridgnorth 85 Bridgnorth .. 119 *Church Stretton .. 68 Burford 95 Dawley 144 Chirbury .. 73 Ellesmere .. 55 Church Stretton .. .. 120 Ludlow 89 Cleobury Mortimer .. 183 New])ort 74 Chin.. .. Ill Oakengates 170 Drayton .. 115 Oswestry 9.3 Ellesmere .. .. 93 Shrewsbury 86 Ludlow .. 108 Wellington 107 Newport .. 119 Wem 90 Oswestry .. 123 Wenlock 120 Shifnal 88 Whitchurch 100 Teme 95 Wellington .. 115 ^Vem 111 Whitchurch 96 Combined Urban Districts 104 Combined Rural Districts .. 113 •Figures not very reliable owing to expansion of District since 1901 Census