The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1923-09-01
Alley Dwellings,, Working Mothers,
Causes of High Infant Death Rate
Study Completed by Children's
Bureau Also Discloses Pow
erty as Cause; Colored Moth
ers Use Baby Clinics More.

Reasons for the higher death rate
among colored babies than among
white babies are suggested in a study
made by the U. S. Department OF
Labor through the Children's Bureau
in Baltimore, Md.
Facts were secured from more than
1000 colored families in which babies
were born during the year of the
study. Thirteen per cent of the en-
tife number of births for the year
were in these families.
Highest Rate.
The infant mortality rate among
these colored families was higher
than that among any other group,
either native white or foreign born,
except among the babies of Polish
mothers, which had slightly higher
rate than the colored people. The
colored rate was 1886 per 1000 COM
pared with 95.9 for native white
mothers and compared with $40 for
babies of Jewish mothers, who had
the lowest mortality rate of any ma
tionality group in the city.
Such factors as the babies sur
roundings, the fathers earnings,
employment, the interval between
births in families, the size of family,
and the type of feeding were anal
yzed for each of the nationality
groups.
Alley Dwellings Factor.
AS to the surroundings of the COL
ored babies, the report points out
that Baltimore is built on the alley
plan and in these narrow back streets
lived a good percentage Of the COL
ored population. Space was less con-
gested in these alleys than in the
Jewish and Polish districts but a
higher percentage of dwellings were
seriously out of repair. There, was a
great lack of decent toilet facilities
and the alleys were damp and filthy
In discussing the question of ia
thers' earnings in it's effect on the
infant death rate, the report points
out that there was an excessively
high percentage of colored fathers
earning the lowest wage and there
were almost no "prosperous' coloret
families. The report draws the con
clusion that, "A large part Of tn.
difference in mortality, but not all
is evidently due to the greater pov
erty of the colored families"
Another difference found betweel
the colored group and the nativ
!, white group was the fact that tn
colored families were larger and tn
intervals between the births of tn
babies shorter than in the white fam
, lilies. After weighing all the ev
dence however, the report conclude
that this difference was compare
lively small factor in accounting fc
the difference in the death rates.
More Mothers Employed.
The third factor studied was tn
! employment of mothers. Sevent!
! three per cent of the white mother
studied were not employed during tf
wear preceding or Immediately aftt
the birth. On the other hand on
"a per cent of the colored mother
studied were not employed.
8 More colored babies than whit
s babies, it was found, were nursed /
8 their mothers. Therefore, the high
s mortality in colored babies could n
Ebe attributed to an excess Of artii
s cial feeding in the colored group.
8 Another favorable factor amor
8 the colored babies was the larj
8 number of them who had been reac
8 ed through the infant welfare age
8 cies in Baltimore. It was found tn
3 a higher percentage Of .colored mot
3 ers than of white mothers receiv
8 good prenatal and natal care and
& large percentage Of colored babi
than Of white babies received supe
vision from infant welfare agenci.