| Table 3.—Distribution of Live Births and of Deaths During First Year, and Infant Mortality Rate, According to Housing Conditions. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths during First Year | |||
| HOUSING CONDITIONS | Live births | Number | Infant mortality rate |
| Total | 1,463 | 196 | 134.0 |
| Dry homes | 808 | 99 | 122.5 |
| Moderately dry homes | 336 | 47 | 139.9 |
| Damp homes | 319 | 50 | 156.7 |
| Bath | 496 | 36 | 72.6 |
| No bath | 965 | 159 | 164.8 |
| Not reported | 2 | 1 | ([[14]]) |
| Water supply in house | 1,173 | 138 | 117.6 |
| Water supply outside | 288 | 57 | 197.9 |
| Not reported | 2 | 1 | ([[14]]) |
| City water available | 1,333 | 176 | 132.0 |
| City water not available | 128 | 19 | 148.4 |
| Not reported | 2 | 1 | ([[14]]) |
| Yard clean | 801 | 80 | 99.9 |
| Yard not clean | 632 | 107 | 169.3 |
| No yard | 28 | 8 | ([[14]]) |
| Not reported | 2 | 1 | ([[14]]) |
| Water-closet | 739 | 80 | 108.3 |
| Yard privy | 722 | 115 | 159.3 |
| Not reported | 2 | 1 | ([[14]]) |
[14]. Total live births less than 50; base therefore considered too small to use in computing an infant mortality rate.
The following summary may be of interest in indicating some relation between infant mortality and cleanliness or uncleanliness combined with dryness or dampness of homes:
| Table 4.—Distribution of Live Births and of Deaths During First Year, and Infant Mortality, According to Cleanliness and Dryness of Home. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths during First Year | |||
| TYPE OF HOME | Live births | Number | Infant mortality rate |
| All types | 1,463 | 196 | 134.0 |
| Clean | 943 | 107 | 113.5 |
| Moderately clean | 354 | 58 | 163.8 |
| Dirty | 166 | 31 | 186.7 |
| Dry | 807 | 99 | 122.7 |
| Damp | 656 | 97 | 147.9 |
| Clean: | |||
| Dry | 581 | 61 | 105.0 |
| Damp | 362 | 46 | 127.1 |
| Moderately clean: | |||
| Dry | 158 | 27 | 170.9 |
| Damp | 196 | 31 | 158.2 |
| Dirty: | |||
| Dry | 68 | 11 | 161.8 |
| Damp | 98 | 20 | 204.1 |
Dirt is doubtless unhealthful, but the amount of ill health or the number of infant deaths caused by a home being dirty can hardly be measured, when, as is usually the case, the dirt is accompanied by so many other bad conditions arising from poverty. For example, a home in close proximity to railroad tracks or mills whose stacks send forth clouds of soot, smoke, and ashes is generally the poorly built home of those who have neither time nor means to secure and retain cleanliness under such difficulties.
Overcrowding in homes is another factor the relative importance of which can not be exactly determined, because of its close connection with other ills. But the degree of overcrowding is greatest in the small cheaper houses, those of one, two, three, or four rooms. The average number of persons per room in the homes of all live-born babies for whom the data were secured was found to be 1.38. Homes of four rooms were more numerous than those of any other size and they housed an average of 1.58 persons per room. The number of babies in homes of various sizes with the number of persons per room for homes of each size was as follows:
| Table 5.—Number of Babies Living in Homes of Each Specified Size, and Average Number of Persons Per Room in Homes of Each Size. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size of home | Live-born babies | Persons per room |
| All homes | 1,463 | |
| 1 room | 33 | 4.42 |
| 2 rooms | 165 | 2.27 |
| 3 rooms | 147 | 1.83 |
| 4 rooms | 526 | 1.58 |
| 5 rooms | 222 | 1.22 |
| 6 rooms | 233 | 1.07 |
| 7 rooms | 38 | .96 |
| 8 rooms | 43 | 0.83 |
| 9 rooms | 22 | .93 |
| 10 rooms | 4 | .88 |
| 11 rooms | 4 | .64 |
| 12 rooms | 1 | .75 |
| 13 rooms | 1 | .69 |
| 14 rooms | 2 | .43 |
| Not reported | 22 | |
In homes of one, two, three, or four rooms or where the number of occupants ranged from 4.42 to 1.58 persons per room the infant mortality rate was 155, as compared with a rate of but 101.8 in larger homes, where the number ranged from 1.22 to 0.43 persons per room.
The 1910 census returns show that the greatest overcrowding was in ward 15, where the average number of persons per dwelling was 9.9. Wards 16, 11, and 14 came next with rates of 8.3, 7.7, and 7.2 respectively. The infant mortality rate for these four wards is 190.2, which is over one-third more than the rate for the whole city.
The mortality rate among infants who slept in a room with no other person than their parents was much lower than among those who slept in a room with more than two persons. The babies that slept in separate beds also had a much lower infant mortality rate than those who did not sleep alone, as shown in the next table. (Table omitted.)