Pre School Child Mortality in the Netherlands

When the Department of Health of the Netherlands Institute of Preventive Medicine was established in 1952, the analysis of child mortality in its historical trend and present state was considered to be one of our first and main duties.The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics has accumulated a wealth of data on child mortality.In the past two years part of this material has been explored.An analysis of child mortality in westem countries reveals five main facts : 1 -a similar trend in the different age groups of childhood 2 -a decreasing importance of classical causes of death, such as tuberctdosis, infectious diseases and respiratory infections 3 -an increasing relative importance of accidents 4 -a tremendous post-war decline 5 -a quantitative predominance of perinatal mortdity.In general, analysis ofmortality figures in childhood, especially in pre-school children, gives the impression that a dream of socia.1 pediatrics is being realised.We should never forget, however, that childhood in the greater part of the world still shows 19th century European mortality figures.A study of chUd mortality is not an dm in itself, but has the purpose of placing child mortality against the background of social medicine, bringing to life seemingly dead and dry statistical data.This purpose seems to be realised in this monograph : it reveals psychological differences between very young boys and girls, a different mental attitude in different areas, interesting sociologicd facts and the influence of economic conditions on child life.Moreover this study shows gaps in the medicd organisation, thus making an important contribution to the evduation of public health work.May this monograph give a stimdus to the further development of social pediatrics in the modern and humane sense of the word, so as to establish a policy in matemd and cliild hedth services which has as its only purpose the promotion of hedth and happiness of families, mothers and children in a welfare state

Environmental health · Geography · Sociology · Birth, Development, and Health · Child and Adolescent Health · Demography · Medicine · Psychology · School Health and Nursing Education

• Sudden Deaths of Infants Allegedly Due to Mechanical Suffocation

  Jacob Werne, Irene Garrow•American Journal of Public Health…•1947

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