Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium
In this article, we investigate to what degree infant mortality risk was transferred from grandmothers to mothers in the Antwerp district, Belgium, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. We also investigate some of the determinants of infant mortality and explore the role of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Instititute of Social History
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Historical Life Course Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://acc.openjournals.nl/hlcs/article/view/9285 |
| _version_ | 1818331978193174528 |
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| author | Robyn Donrovich Paul Puschmann Koen Matthijs |
| author_facet | Robyn Donrovich Paul Puschmann Koen Matthijs |
| author_sort | Robyn Donrovich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In this article, we investigate to what degree infant mortality risk was transferred from grandmothers to mothers in the Antwerp district, Belgium, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. We also investigate some of the determinants of infant mortality and explore the role of the family - paternal factors (presence, age, and social class), mother’s childcare experience, and infant household location - in the survival of infants. The data for this research were retrieved from the Antwerp COR*-database and were transferred into the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS). The results of the survival models show that women whose mother experienced three or more infant deaths had a 77% higher risk of experiencing the loss of an infant themselves, compared to women whose mother experienced zero infant deaths in the past. These results remained robust after controlling for potential mediating and moderating factors. The results on the age of the mother at birth, her marital status, as well as the living environment suggest that at least part of the intergenerational transfer in infant mortality can be explained on the basis of life history theory: women who grew up in a high-risk family tended to reproduce earlier and faster, and often raised their children without a partner. In this way they unconsciously created riskier conditions for the raising of their own infants: the mothers had little life experience, limited resources, and often no assistance from a partner. As a result, their own children were also at an increased risk of dying in infancy.
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| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:28:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-446856bc01c24c61b7cfe92dc2af3d14 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-6343 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:28:26Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | International Instititute of Social History |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Historical Life Course Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-446856bc01c24c61b7cfe92dc2af3d142022-12-21T23:44:13ZengInternational Instititute of Social HistoryHistorical Life Course Studies2352-63432018-03-017Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, BelgiumRobyn DonrovichPaul PuschmannKoen Matthijs In this article, we investigate to what degree infant mortality risk was transferred from grandmothers to mothers in the Antwerp district, Belgium, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. We also investigate some of the determinants of infant mortality and explore the role of the family - paternal factors (presence, age, and social class), mother’s childcare experience, and infant household location - in the survival of infants. The data for this research were retrieved from the Antwerp COR*-database and were transferred into the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS). The results of the survival models show that women whose mother experienced three or more infant deaths had a 77% higher risk of experiencing the loss of an infant themselves, compared to women whose mother experienced zero infant deaths in the past. These results remained robust after controlling for potential mediating and moderating factors. The results on the age of the mother at birth, her marital status, as well as the living environment suggest that at least part of the intergenerational transfer in infant mortality can be explained on the basis of life history theory: women who grew up in a high-risk family tended to reproduce earlier and faster, and often raised their children without a partner. In this way they unconsciously created riskier conditions for the raising of their own infants: the mothers had little life experience, limited resources, and often no assistance from a partner. As a result, their own children were also at an increased risk of dying in infancy. https://acc.openjournals.nl/hlcs/article/view/9285AntwerpLife history theoryIntergenerational transferFamily factorsInfant mortality clustering |
| spellingShingle | Robyn Donrovich Paul Puschmann Koen Matthijs Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium Historical Life Course Studies Antwerp Life history theory Intergenerational transfer Family factors Infant mortality clustering |
| title | Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium |
| title_full | Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium |
| title_fullStr | Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium |
| title_short | Mortality Clustering in the Family. Fast Life History Trajectories and the Intergenerational Transfer of Infant Death in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Antwerp, Belgium |
| title_sort | mortality clustering in the family fast life history trajectories and the intergenerational transfer of infant death in late 19th and early 20th century antwerp belgium |
| topic | Antwerp Life history theory Intergenerational transfer Family factors Infant mortality clustering |
| url | https://acc.openjournals.nl/hlcs/article/view/9285 |
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