[Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Exeter City & County.

  • Exeter (England). City & County Council.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Exeter City & County. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    o The Infant Mortality for England and Wales was 106 per 1,000 Births, in the 77 Great Towns it was 115, in the 136 Towns in which Exeter is included it was 104, and in England and Wales less the 213 Towns it was 96 per 1,000 Births. The Infantile Death-rate in Exeter has decreased from 137*1 per 1,000 Births, which was the average for the 9 years 1901 to 1909 inclusive, to 96*7 per 1,000 Births for the present year, showing a decrease on the average Infantile Mortality for the past 9 years of 40*4 per 1,000 Births. In considering the decrease in the Infantile Mortality during the past two or three years, the climatic influences have in niv opinion no doubt exercised some effect on the Death rate; but at the same time there can be no doubt that the influence and the good work done by the Ladies of the Babies’ Welcome Club, the early information of births through the Notification of Births Act, which enables our Health Visitor to tender instructions and advice from the beginning, particularly in the parts of the City where the inhabitants most need it, have materially contributed to the great reduction of the last few years. From the result of inquiries by the Health Visitor I find that the mortality among hand-fed infants is 12*5 per cent., as compared with 4*4 per cent, of breast-fed infants, and 4*9 per cent, of breast and hand-fed infants.