Infant mortality

The infant mortality rate is recorded the proportion of children who die before reaching their first birthday. They are divided so out of child mortality. A high infant mortality rate is found most frequently an indicator of underdevelopment and in developing countries.

The different mortality rates comparable developed countries can be attributed in part to different traditions, but also on various government deals for the care of mothers and newborns.

In most industrialized countries, it is an increased infant mortality in socially disadvantaged groups prove to include in Germany about poor people and people with a migration background. For this infant mortality inadequate health care during pregnancy, malnutrition and under-use of preventive health services suspected, without being able in order to cover all aspects.

Historical Outlook

If the infant mortality today usually recorded in parts per thousand, so this was done well into the 20th century due to the then much higher casualty figures in percent. In this way an occasion of the creation of a " Landesauschuß for infant and young child care in Mecklenburg " presented statistics from 1917 that 1886-1910 in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg -Schwerin of live births within the first year of life constant from 16.2 to 17.1 percent died. Until the age of five died in the same period from 21.0 to 24.4 percent .. This means that at that time in the first year of life died about every fifth, fifth to about one in four children. Similar death rates were recorded throughout the German Reich.

Because of statistics can be demonstrated in the past a very close correlation between infant mortality and the type of diet the Säuling.

This principle, the pediatrician and Sozialhygeniker Hugo Neumann in 1908 related to Berlin statistical data on infant mortality, type of infant feeding and the apartment size as an indicator of the economic status of the family together. His statistics documented that infant mortality increased with decreasing economic status and that also was accompanied by a based infant formula nutrition in every social layer with a higher order multiples compared to the breastfeeding infant mortality. With 23 percent of the highest in Berlin was the mortality of infants in whom met both factors.