The impact of the great war on infant mortality in London.

Abstract

This paper presents evidence for a moderately optimistic account of the impact of the First World War on infant survival rates in London. The full effects of the war were not exhausted in November 1918. By examining the period immediately before and after the war, we show firstly, that the 1914-1918 conflict was a time of slowly declining infant mortality in London, and secondly, that the rate of decline accelerated after 1918. Before the Armistice, infant mortality rates were the resultant of both positive and negative aspects of war-related conditions. After 1918, most of the war's deleterious effects faded, whereas the positive aspects of wartime developments in infant health in London continued to enhance survival chances in the postwar years.