The infant mortality and its causes in the foundling of Toledo between 1900-1910

Abstract

The study of the medical care is closely connected to the charitable actions with poor people. It was very common the abandonment of the children in the foundlings until the first decades of the 20th century. In them, the rates of infant mortality were catastrophic. The aim of this research is the study of the infant mortality and its causes in the abandoned children in the foundling of Toledo between 1910 and 1910. It is a historical research that analyses the primary sources (the books of breastfeeding and weaning of the institution have been used to collect the data because in them there are some references about the moment of the death and its etiology) using the principles of Social and Cultural History. If we exclude the perinatal deaths, the infant mortality rate was 537 per thousand. The 39% died before being one year old. The mortality rate between one and five years is the half than in the other group of age. This mortality was caused by infections, rickets, “eclampsia and atrepsia”. The mortality of these children was higher than the mortality of the kids who live in the county of Toledo in the same date. The causes of the death are related to the lack of healthiness and hygiene both in the institution and in the foster families.

Keywords

• inclusas, mortalidad infantil, expósitos