Il declino della mortalitŕ durante l'infanzia nella Spagna urbana e rurale, 1860-1930

Abstract

Diego Ramiro-Farińas, The decline of childhood Mortality in Urban and Rural Spain, 1860-1930 The study of urban mortality and urban-rural mortality differentials has attracted the attention of many scholars. Most of the literature points to a higher childhood mortality in urban areas, mainly due to the unfavourable conditions for rearing children in cities which were normally densely populated and with very poor housing conditions and normally with inefficient water supply and sewage systems. This study shows that urban overmortality was above all a characteristic of children dying after the first 10 days of life and the differences between urban and rural environments widened with increased age of the deceased. There were also important differences between urban and rural areas in foetal mortality. Moreover, cities with under 20,000 inhabitants were the unhealthiest for children of all urban and rural environments. We highlight the importance of urban areas as poles of attraction for migrants and also as administrative centres, where health and charity institutions were preferably located. These institutions and the migration flows played an important role in the level of urban mortality. Foundling hospitals provide a significant example of this relationship.