Hard facts from a city at a turning point in public health
In this field study, researchers examine infant mortality in New Bedford, a textile town with a long history of high death rates in infancy. The work ties health outcomes to housing, work, and living conditions in a bustling industrial area along the Acushnet River.
Set in a real city and grounded in data, the report traces how factors like where families live, whether mothers worked in mills, and how infants were fed influence the chances of surviving the first year of life. It also describes public health efforts, housing regulations, and the diverse communities within the city. The study combines statistics with on‑the‑ground observations to illuminate the connections between daily life and infant survival.
- Foundations of infant mortality: how housing quality and overcrowding relate to outcomes.
- Working mothers and their influence on birth and early infant health, especially in cotton mill settings.
- Nativity, race, and neighborhood differences in infant deaths and stillbirths.
- Public health responses, including regulation, nursing visits, and feeding practices.
Ideal for readers of public health history and social history, this edition sheds light on early 20th‑century efforts to reduce infant deaths in a manufacturing city.