Working Paper: NBER ID: w1662
Authors: Richard H. Steckel
Abstract: This paper relies on birth and death lists from plantation records to investigate the causes of low birth weight and poor health of young slave children. The sources of deprivation can be traced to the fetal period. The slave work routine was arduous overall and particularily intense during planting, hoeing, and harvesting. These demands combined with seasonal fluctuations in disease and in the quality of the diet implied that few newborns had escaped stress on intrauterine growth. Starchy food supplements given soon after birth and poor sanitation surrounding feeding provided a poor environment for growth during the first year of life.
Keywords: early childhood health; mortality; American slaves; maternal health; historical analysis
JEL Codes: N3; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy, exacerbated by physical exertion (J13) | Low birth weight (J13) |
| Low birth weight (J13) | Poor health outcomes in infants (I14) |
| Seasonal fluctuations in diet and disease (I12) | Increased mortality rates among infants (I12) |
| Increased mortality rates among infants (I12) | High mortality rates concentrated in the first eight months (I12) |
| Work demands on slave mothers during pregnancy and postpartum (J22) | Affected neonatal outcomes (J13) |