Diseases of children : a short introduction to their study / [Fleetwood Churchill].

  • Churchill, Fleetwood, 1808-1878.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of children : a short introduction to their study / [Fleetwood Churchill]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/676 (page 3)
    4. So much for the mortality generally ; if we inquire into details we find it always great, though varying, as, for example, between the children of the poor and those in comfortable circumstances ; between‘ the poor in towns and those in the country; or between the poor in different towns, or in different parts of the country differing in hygienic conditions ; proving conclusively, that the mortality depends, to a cer- tain extent, upon external circumstances, and also that it is in some measure under the control of good management. From Dr. Granville’s tables of the mortality among the poor of London, we find that 458 in every 1000 children under two years of age died. From the First Report of the Registrar-General, already quoted, it appears, that in the mining parts of Staffordshire and Shropshire, in Leeds and its suburbs, and in Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, and the lowland parts of Lincolnshire, the deaths of infants under one year have been more than 270 out of 1000 deaths at all ages; while in the northern counties of England, in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Devon- shire, in Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and in Wales, the deaths at that age, out of 1000 of all ages, scarcely exceeded 180.”* Com- pare, again, Manchester, Salford, and their suburbs, where the num- ber of deaths under two years of age was 429.98 per 1000, with West- moreland and Cumberland, where the proportion was only 276.35 per 1000. In Mr. M‘Clean’s Visit to St. Kilda, he states, that “eight out of every ten children die between the eighth and twelfth days of their existence ;” and this, he conceives, is mainly owing to the “filth in which they live, and the noxious effluvia of their homes.” 5. But there are more shocking evidences still of the result of bad accommodation and mismanagement. For example, Dr. Combe states, f that ‘‘ about a century ago the workhouses of London presented the astounding result of twenty-three deaths in every twenty-four infants under the age of one year. For a long time this frightful devasta- tion was allowed to go on, as beyond the reach of human remedy. But when at last an improved system of management was adopted, in consequence of a parliamentary inquiry having taken place, the pro- portion of deaths was speedily reduced from 2600 to 450 a year.” 6. Another illustration of the effects of management is afforded by the mortality in lying-in hospitals. Dr. Willan gives the following proportions : From 1749 to 1758 1 in 15 children died. » 1759 to 1768 1in 20 ,, a yl 769 tol ZS Lind?» 5, rs » 1779 to17881in44 ,, 5 sek 469), to, 1708: A tas77 oy; 9 In the valuable paper of the late Dr. Joseph Clarke,{ of this city, * Report, p 5, 44. ‘f On the Management of Children, p. 14. ot “gan tM * the Royal Irish.Academy, vol.iii. Collins’s Practical ee. tise, p. 514. _ B2