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Thursday 13 April 2023 16.30 - 18.30
K-8 FAM16 Social and Cultural Determinants of Infant Mortality in the Past: New Insights from across Europe
C22
Network: Family and Demography Chair: Rosella Rettaroli
Organizers: Lucia Pozzi, Francesco Scalone Discussant: Johan Junkka
Stanislao Mazzoni, Michel Oris & Diego Ramiro- Fariñas : Mothers of the Capital: Poverty, Infant Mortality and Reproductive Health in Madrid (1916-1926)
In this paper, we study early life mortality in the Spanish capital between 1916 and 1926, when the urban environment of the city was characterized by social stratification and spatial segregation. Poverty and social inequalities were widely spread but were more concentrated in the southern part of the city and ... (Show more)
In this paper, we study early life mortality in the Spanish capital between 1916 and 1926, when the urban environment of the city was characterized by social stratification and spatial segregation. Poverty and social inequalities were widely spread but were more concentrated in the southern part of the city and particularly in the most destitute districts. We focus our attention on the causes of death, especially on non-infectious diseases, dominant in the first days of life. We find that among those responsible for neonatal deaths, the most important pathologies show a clear association with poverty through the maternal depletion syndrome. Undernutrition affected poor mothers and drastically increased the mortality risks for their babies in their first month of life, and still later on, although to a lesser extent. Those diseases continued to be a major threat for infant survival. Furthermore, we will provide evidence of how during periods of economic or health crises closed birth intervals were longer than in favorable periods and show how these outcomes could reflect a higher incidence of miscarriages, as signs of undernutrition and a worse maternal health condition.
Using different econometric techniques (parametric and semi-parametric) based on both proportional hazard assumption and AFT metrics, we will take advantage of a rich longitudinal database consisting of about 170,000 individual biographies, derived from the city’s records of births and deaths reconstructed for the study period. In addition to the detailed demographic and geographic information directly derived from the sources, we include other variables reconstructed thanks to the record linkage procedure, as in the case of birth intervals.
The causes of death have been acquired and coded using the method proposed by Bernabeu-Mestre and colleagues (2003). This method aims to classify historical diagnostic expressions through a numeric stratification and divides causes of death into groups and subgroups. (Show less)

Lucia Pozzi, Liam Kennedy & Michail Raftakis : Infant Mortality in a Deeply Divided Society: Belfast and Northern Ireland in the First Half of the 20th Century
The subject of this paper is the evolution of infant mortality in the city of Belfast and Northern Ireland during the first half of the 20th century. The region is a distinctive one in that it was characterised by communal, sectarian and political conflict. Dublin, the Irish Free State, and ... (Show more)
The subject of this paper is the evolution of infant mortality in the city of Belfast and Northern Ireland during the first half of the 20th century. The region is a distinctive one in that it was characterised by communal, sectarian and political conflict. Dublin, the Irish Free State, and the rest of UK are employed as comparative reference points for the study. We intend also to examine infant mortality within Belfast itself, in view of variations in socio-economic structure, place of residence and religious composition across the city. The paper is divided into two sections according to the level of aggregation employed. In the first section we analyse at the aggregate level the official statistical reports (GRO) and the Health Reports, compiled by the Medical Superintendent Officers, which allow for a detailed age and cause-specific analysis of infant mortality. This section also takes into account the infant welfare system and its effectiveness. The second section operates at the level of individual cases and is based on the manuscript returns of the 1911 Census and the civil records of births and deaths (when possible). These sources allow us to pursue fine-grained enquiries into the social and cultural correlates of infant mortality. (Show less)

Francesco Scalone, Gabriele Rulu : Social, Religious and Cultural Differences in Infant Mortality in a Group of Historical German Villages
We estimate the effects of social and cultural determinants on infant mortality, by distinguishing the impact on neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, in six German villages in the 19th Century. We use survival models for about 20,000 births occurring between 1800 to 1899, including a frailty term at the maternal level ... (Show more)
We estimate the effects of social and cultural determinants on infant mortality, by distinguishing the impact on neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, in six German villages in the 19th Century. We use survival models for about 20,000 births occurring between 1800 to 1899, including a frailty term at the maternal level and controlling for a set of biodemographic factors. We assume religious affiliation as the main covariate of our analysis, as it strictly correlates to cultural and social dimensions.
Previous historical studies have already assessed the effect of religious affiliation on infant mortality before, during and after the demographic transition. Historical infant mortality differentials according to religious affiliation have been mainly explained on the basis of socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of the various religious groups. However, other studies have shown persistent differences in infant survivorship after controlling for several biodemographic factors and economic conditions.
Considering Germany in the past, the Jewish group clearly experienced lower infant mortality levels than other religious groups due to the more advanced hygienic standards, educational levels, social cohesion, and wider diffusion of fertility control. In addition, remarkable differences in infant mortality between Protestants and Catholics have been attributed to different breastfeeding and feeding practices, since Protestant mothers used to breastfeed more frequently and for longer periods. Less attention, however, has been devoted to the variations of the religious effect on infant mortality according to infant’s age.
By assuming that a variation in the infant death risks existed after the weaning period, we aim to assess the impact of religion in different monthly age groups. As religious groups could adapt differently to external conditions, we also intend to assess the interactions between religion and environmental factors (such as climate variations and seasonality). (Show less)



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