‘WHO YOU ARE OR WHERE YOU ARE?’: DETERMINANTS OF INFANT MORTALITY IN FULHAM 1876-1888

Abstract

This article explores recent suggestions that during the late 19th and early 20th centuries where one lived had a greater effect on infant survival chances than the socio-economic class into which one was born. The research focuses on a micro-level study of a London suburb with a highly mobile population in the late 19th century. Vaccination registers have provided a source to identify all births in a sample of streets in Fulham during the period 1876-1888 and to place those infants into working- or middle-class groups based on parental occupation. The analysis of these sample data has produced interesting results. As one might expect, lower infant mortality rates are confirmed for those living in better housing conditions and born to parents of higher social class. However, the middle class in poorer environments and the working class in better environments were also able to achieve lower rates.