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Finding and using inter-war maternity records
M Kemp1, D Gunnell, G Davey Smith
1School of Social Science, University of Bath.
Insights
Researchers searched for obstetric records of over 5,000 children from 1930s-1940s diet and growth surveys. Birth-weight data was recovered for 10% of the cohort from various archives.
Area of Science:
- Medical History
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Surveys of childhood diet and growth were conducted by the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen across 16 centers in England and Scotland during the late 1930s and early 1940s.
- A cohort of over 5,000 children participated in these extensive surveys.
Observation:
- This study focused on locating the obstetric records for this specific cohort.
- The search aimed to retrieve birth-weight data, a crucial metric for retrospective health studies.
Findings:
- Obstetric records, including birth-weight data, were successfully located for approximately 10% of the children in the cohort.
- Data sources included hospitals, health authority archives, and local authority record offices.
Implications:
- The findings provide valuable data for medical historians and epidemiologists engaged in retrospective studies.
- Understanding the representativeness of the recovered records is crucial for accurate historical health analysis.
Abstract:
This paper describes the results of a search for the obstetric records of a cohort of over 5,000 children who participated in surveys of childhood diet and growth during the late 1930s and early 1940s conducted by the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen. The surveys were conducted at sixteen centres throughout England and Scotland. Birth-weight data were found in hospitals, health authority archives and local authority record offices for approximately 10 per cent of these children. The sources and methods used to find the records are described and their representativeness is evaluated. It is anticipated that this report will be of some interest to medical historians and epidemiologists conducting retrospective studies.