Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912

The burden of infant mortality is not shared equally by all families, but clusters in high risk families. As yet, it remains unclear why some families experience more infant deaths than other families. Earlier research has shown that the risk of early death among infants may at least partially be tr...

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Main Authors: Ingrid K. van Dijk, Kees Mandemakers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Institute of Social History 2018-02-01
Series:Historical Life Course Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hlcs.nl/article/view/9286
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author Ingrid K. van Dijk
Kees Mandemakers
author_facet Ingrid K. van Dijk
Kees Mandemakers
author_sort Ingrid K. van Dijk
collection DOAJ
description The burden of infant mortality is not shared equally by all families, but clusters in high risk families. As yet, it remains unclear why some families experience more infant deaths than other families. Earlier research has shown that the risk of early death among infants may at least partially be transmitted from grandmothers to mothers. In this paper, we focus on the intergenerational transmission of mortality clustering in the Netherlands in the province of Zeeland between 1833 and 1912, using LINKS Zeeland, a dataset containing family reconstitutions based on civil certificates of birth, marriage and death. We assess whether intergenerational transmission of mortality clustering occurred in Zeeland, and if so, whether it can be explained on the basis of the demographic characteristics of the families in which the infants were born. In addition, we explore the opportunities for comparative research using the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS). We find that mortality clustering is indeed transmitted from grandmothers to mothers, and that the socioeconomic status of the family, the survival of mothers and fathers, and the demographic characteristics of the family affected infant survival. However, they explain the heterogeneity in infant mortality at the level of the mother only partially.
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spelling doaj-art-86d5994040d74fc6b9c8b38e2822e0a52025-02-02T12:15:56ZengInternational Institute of Social HistoryHistorical Life Course Studies2352-63432018-02-017Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912Ingrid K. van DijkKees MandemakersThe burden of infant mortality is not shared equally by all families, but clusters in high risk families. As yet, it remains unclear why some families experience more infant deaths than other families. Earlier research has shown that the risk of early death among infants may at least partially be transmitted from grandmothers to mothers. In this paper, we focus on the intergenerational transmission of mortality clustering in the Netherlands in the province of Zeeland between 1833 and 1912, using LINKS Zeeland, a dataset containing family reconstitutions based on civil certificates of birth, marriage and death. We assess whether intergenerational transmission of mortality clustering occurred in Zeeland, and if so, whether it can be explained on the basis of the demographic characteristics of the families in which the infants were born. In addition, we explore the opportunities for comparative research using the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS). We find that mortality clustering is indeed transmitted from grandmothers to mothers, and that the socioeconomic status of the family, the survival of mothers and fathers, and the demographic characteristics of the family affected infant survival. However, they explain the heterogeneity in infant mortality at the level of the mother only partially.https://hlcs.nl/article/view/9286Early-life exposureBiodemographyMortality clusteringInfant mortalityIntermediate Data Structure
spellingShingle Ingrid K. van Dijk
Kees Mandemakers
Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
Historical Life Course Studies
Early-life exposure
Biodemography
Mortality clustering
Infant mortality
Intermediate Data Structure
title Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
title_full Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
title_fullStr Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
title_full_unstemmed Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
title_short Like Mother, Like Daughter. Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Mortality Clustering in Zeeland, the Netherlands, 1833-1912
title_sort like mother like daughter intergenerational transmission of infant mortality clustering in zeeland the netherlands 1833 1912
topic Early-life exposure
Biodemography
Mortality clustering
Infant mortality
Intermediate Data Structure
url https://hlcs.nl/article/view/9286
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