Excerpt from Infant Mortality: A Social Problem Uri N G the last five years my work in Fins bury has necessitated a careful study of the problem of infant mortality. This book is part of the outcome. It is an attempt to state in a plain way the chief facts concerning a question which is not without national importance. The young of all animals are more susceptible than the adult to the influence of environment and the approach of death. Hence, it is inevitable that, even under the most favourable circumstances, the deaths of infants will furnish a large contribution to the bills of mortality. As civilisation advances, however, this should become less. That it does not, in fact, become substantially less is surely a matter calling for consideration, for' at the present time there is an annual loss to England and Wales of lives by the death of infants. In past years there has been a similar drain upon the national resources of life. But, it should not be forgotten that a rapidly declining birth-rate means that this loss of life is now operating in conjunction with a diminished income. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.