Temperature in young children is normally 98°-99.5°F., taken by rectum; it occasionally rises to 100.5 in apparently perfect health. It is normally higher in late afternoon.[57]
The rate of circulation (time required from leaving the heart till return to the heart) is in the newly born 12 seconds, at 3 years 15 seconds, in the adult 22 seconds.[57]
Infant Mortality
The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of babies which occur for every 1,000 live births. Figures in the United States are available only for that part of the country known as the registration area, where the reporting of births and deaths is legally required. It is important that the birth of every child should be registered, and that laws requiring registration should be enforced in every State.
Deaths of Infants Under One Year of Age Per 1,000 Live Births in Foreign Countries[58]
| Country | Year | Rate |
| Russia | 1909 | 248 |
| Ceylon | 1912 | 215 |
| German Empire | 1911 | 192 |
| Austria | 1912 | 180 |
| Italy | 1911 | 153 |
| Switzerland | 1911 | 123 |
| England and Wales | 1912 | 95 |
| Ireland | 1912 | 86 |
| France | 1912 | 78 |
| Australia | 1912 | 72 |
| Norway | 1911 | 65 |
| New Zealand | 1912 | 51 |
The New York Milk Committee states that an infant mortality rate above 50 per 1,000 is preventable by sanitation, hygiene, prenatal care, and the instruction of mothers; and that a rate beyond this is unfair to the babies, and a disgrace to the community for its negligence.
Principal Causes of Death During Growth
Registration Area, United States, including about 65 per cent. of population. For the year 1913.
| Cause of Death | Under 1 Yr. | 1-2 Yrs. | 2-3 Yrs. | 3-4 Yrs. | 4-5 Yrs. | 5-9 Yrs. | 10-20 Yrs. |
| 1. Congenital debility | 60,551 | ||||||
| 2. Premature birth | 27,359 | ||||||
| 3. Injuries at birth | 5,131 | ||||||
| 4. Digestive | 43,243 | 9,942 | 2,653 | 1,124 | 697 | 1,968 | 2,939 |
| 5. Respiratory (except tuberculosis, chiefly pneumonia) | 25,274 | 9,272 | 3,567 | 1,724 | 1,055 | 2,296 | 2,502 |
| Tuberculosis | 2,491 | 1,879 | 1,053 | 693 | 507 | 1,702 | 8,350 |
| 6. Whooping cough | 3,442 | 1,516 | 596 | 301 | 152 | 246 | 40 |
| 7. Measles | 2,011 | 2,562 | 1,117 | 584 | 302 | 660 | 346 |
| 8. Diphtheria and croup | 913 | 1,857 | 1,781 | 1,498 | 1,293 | 3,171 | 918 |
| 9. Scarlet fever | 255 | 618 | 798 | 684 | 603 | 1,563 | 621 |
| 10. Influenza | 608 | 171 | 105 | 47 | 42 | 126 | 202 |
| 11. Smallpox[59] | 27 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 |