[Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Wilmslow U.D.C.

  • Wilmslow (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Wilmslow U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/10
    of the Medical Officer of Health For the Year 1910. PHYSICAL .FEATURES AND GENERAL CHARACTERS OF THE DISTRICT. rpHE WILMSLOW URBAN DISTRICT is situated in the county of Cheshire, about ten miles south of Manchester. The London & North-Western Railway from Manchester to Crewe runs through it. It forms part of the Cheshire plain, and is traversed by the valley of the River Bollin. Its area comprises 5,090 acres. The subsoil is chiefly sand and clay. On Lindow Common, and in its neighbourhood, there is peat. The district is partly suburban and partly rural in character. The population was 7,361 at the census of 1901, and was estimated to be 8,300 at the middle of 1910. A considerable part of the population is residential, chiefly composed of persons engaged in business in Manchester, with their families. There are no large manufactories in the district. Some of the inhabitants work at a cotton mill at Styal and some at a bleach works at Handforth, places just outside the district. Many are employed in the ordinary local trades, whilst others are occupied with agriculture. BIRTHS AND DEATHS. During the year 171 births and 83 deaths were registered. Two births were illegitimate. The birthrate was 20.6 per thousand of the estimated population, as against 19 for the year 1909, and was .4 below the average for the preceding ten years. The death-rate was 10 per thousand, as against 11.6 for 1909, and was 3.4 below the average for the preceding ten years. There were 4 deaths of infants under one year of age (all legitimate). In 1909 there were 8 such deaths, and the average for the preceding ten years was 14. The Infantile Mortality, i.e., the death-rate of infants under one year per thousand births, was 23.4, as against 50 for the year 1909, and 85.7, the average for the preceding ten years. It is the lowest recorded during this period. Of the 4 deaths, 2 were due to prematurity, another was accidental (overlaying), and the fourth was due to gastritis. The Infantile Mortality has been low' during the last four years corresponding with comparatively low rates in the county and in England and Wales. The following table gives the rates for the preceding ten years. Year. Wilmslow. Cheshire. England and Wales 1900 96 143 154 1901 148 .... 150 151 1902 57 .... 119 133 1903 .... 77 .... 126 132 1904 .... 145 .... 144 145 1905 .... 83 .... 119 j 128 1906 .... 114 .... 118 132 1907 .... 65 .... 112 118 1908 .... 43 .... 113 121 1909 50 .... 99 109 The lower rates of the last few years are probably in part due to improver sanitary conditions and to the absence of extremes of heat and cold. A mild winter and a cool wet summer mean less disease. During 1910 there was not much epidemic disease in Wilmslow. This also may have been a factor in the exceptionally low infantile mortality. With such low rates prevailing, there has been no proposal to adopt the Notification of Births Act. At the present time the district enjoys the advantages conferred by the adoption of the Act, as the District Midwife attends most of the working women in their confinements and is well qualified to give them advice on the care of their infants. There were 5 deaths between the ages of 1 and 5 years, none between 5 and 15, 6 between 15 and 25, 25 between 25 and 65, and 43 at 65 years and upwards. The corresponding figures for 1909 were : 9 deaths between 1 and 5 years. 4 between 5 and 15, none between 15 and 25, 28 between 25 and 65, and 48 at 65 years and upwards.