Infant Mortality in 19th Century Britain
A Working-Class Problem and a Public Health Solution
Infant mortality in 19th century Britain was correlated with the socioeconomic standards that dominated Europe at the time. Specifically, the working class fell victim to this increase in infant mortality, due to a wide range of factors including small wages, urban housing, poor working conditions and the domestication of female labor. While a variety of diseases plagued Victorian England, the Cholera outbreak- for example, the fact that infant mortality still increased at a greater rate than the overall life expectancy decreased demonstrates that illness cannot be the sole cause of this surge in infant deaths.
The Class Problem
The Age of Capitalism
The rise of industrial capitalism in the 19th century laid the groundwork for socioeconomic equalities that contributed to high infant mortality rates. The emergence of factories and mass production gave women an opportunity to enter the public workforce, however, upper class men and public officials began "raising concerns about the morality and sexualities of women workers in the public sphere." (Cowman & Jackson, 2007) These questions about the morality of women's work, in combination with the fact that many women were confined to the home to care for children anyway, led to the creation of 'piece work' which allowed women to recieve wages upon the completion of a certain number of 'pieces' from home.
Although the domestication of women's work seemed initially promising for 19th century women- despite its reinforcement of the patriarchal concepts that were already prevalent in society- the struggle between completing these 'pieces' while also caring for children quickly became a burden for many. According to Cora Millet-Robinet in The Lady's Rustic Household, "the mistress of the house has many duties to fulfill. The order and perfection she brings to their accomplishment contributes greatly to the family's prosperity." (Millet-Robinet, 1844) The pressure to procure a perfect household, raise infants and simulatneously earn a weekly wage became increasingly apparent through the progression of the 19th century. This pressure, resulting from the growth of capitalism and 19th century gender ideals, culminated in infants that "were so unwanted, in fact, as to become victims of infanticide." (Sauer, 1978)
Infanticide: Not Solely a British Problem
These images show infanticide all acrosss Europe, representing that this method of familial control was not only seen in Britain, but France, Ireland and Russia as well.
Infanticide
In 19th century Britian, "the assumption that a working mother entailed a neglected child was sacrosanct." (Dyhouse, 1978) These forms of neglect varied, but incontrovertible evidence exists that many of these British infants were victims of infanticide. Parents used various means to dispose of unwanted children, ranging from deliberate malnutrition to drug intoxication.
"Overlaying"
This method of infanticide was the consequence of "parents commonly [sleeping] in the same bed with nursing children and it was held that those who wished to dispose of unwanted children 'overlaid' them - that is, rolled over them and smothered them to death while they slept." Also referred to as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, this form of infanticide "is a overwhelmingly urban and lower class syndrome." (Hansen, 1979)
Malnutrition
The "changing dietary patterns among the English working class support a reinterpretation of infant mortality" (Hansen, 1979) that forces one to conclude that parents were using starvation or malnutrition as forms of infanticide during this time period.
(Reframing the Victorians, 2013)
Opiates
Opiate use was actually quite common in Victorian England, allowing it to serve as an easy means of disguise for subduing and killing an infant. "Poppy tea" was "widely drunk and used for general medicinal purposes with a consequent wasting in children and possibly malnutrition leading to death." (Wohl, 1984) One writer in the London Daily News wrote that he was astonished at the use of "opium, soothing syrups, and other baneful cordials ... by large masses of the mothers among our labouring population." (1879)
Abortion
While not exactly infanticide, abortions were a common practice among parents who could not afford either the time or money to care for an infant.
The problem of abortion in Britain became so great, even after the decline of infant mortality in the 20th century, that British Parliament passed the Infant Life (Protection) Act of 1929 which stated any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any willful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction, and shall be liable on conviction thereof on indictment to penal servitude for life."
Baby Farming
Baby farming became an indirect form of infanticide utilized by British parents in the 19th century. Essentially, the practice encompassed the taking of an infant or child upon payment by the mother. An exact definitin of baby farming is hard to pinpoint, but one witness described a house in which he had proved "the birth of forty-six children in two years." (British Medical Journal, 1871) The women who took their infants to baby farms in most cases never knew what became of them, but it is presumable that the majority assumed they were dead. Six baby farmers were hung in England from 1870 to 1909. (capitalpunishment.uk.org.)
Amelia Dyer: Angel Maker
Amelia Dyer is perhaps the most notorious baby farmer in 19th century Europe. While the exact number of her 'babies' remain unknown, it is estimated that she is repsonsible for the deaths of around 400 infants. (Illustrated Police News, 1890) Her baby farm was located in Bristol, and was known to be most active during the 1860's.
"Pocketing the cash, she strangled her victims with white tape, then wrapped their bodies either in brown parcel paper or in a carpet bag, to be recovered only weeks - or months - later."
-Allison Rattle
Author, Amelia Dyer, Angel Maker: The Woman Who Murdered Babies for Money
Disease
Apart from the deliberate deaths of infants, the high rates of disease due to poor living conditions and overpopulation of city slums also contributed to the increase in infant mortality rates. Cholera, also known as the "Blue Death" soared in mid-19th century Britain. "In 1854, hundreds of these hapless locals dropped dead within days of each other as Soho experienced one of the most brutal outbreaks of Cholera that London has ever seen." (Ball, 2009) By the end of the mid-century outbreak, the water-transmitted disease killed over 4,000 people. (Luckin, 1977) The unhygeinic living conditions of city slums in Britain made the population particularly vulnerable to Cholera, as well as many other illnesses. An 1866 report states, "overcrowding, deficiency of drainage, and inferior articles of food are more likely to have promoted Cholera than impurity or deficiency of water." (The Cholera Report, 1866)
(Wandsworth, 1858)
Causes of Death by Sex, Age and Social Status in 1858
This chart compares the causes of death amongst the population of Wandsworth in London during this time period of increased infant mortality. Almost twice the number of children died under the age of one than from the five years thereafter in this particular section in London, and it is likely that other areas of Britain reflected this trend as well. It is interesting to note that the "uncertain diseases" category is the second highest in leading causes of death. Various methods of infanticide are probably included in this category.
However, of similar importance is the striking number of people dying from disease in London. The age category suggests that younger people were more suceptible to disease according to these numbers, which is particularly interesting because medical reports and statistics show almost the opposite in the present day. As a whole, this chart shows high rates of infant mortality and high rates of disease in Wandsworth, London in the heart of the 19th century.
