Infant life expectation in rural areas compared to cities.

[benny1982]

I have found that many of the children born to rural dwelling ancestors have survived into adulthood whereas in cities the mortality rate has been a lot higher probably due to the pollution, poor sanitation and the overcrowding whereas in the countryside you got more fresh air but I did hear that manure smells from farms was quite dangerous for rural ancestors.

 

[p.risboy]

I have found that many of the children born to rural dwelling ancestors have survived into adulthood whereas in cities the mortality rate has been a lot higher probably due to the pollution, poor sanitation and the overcrowding whereas in the countryside you got more fresh air but I did hear that manure smells from farms was quite dangerous for rural ancestors.

But at least in the counry Ben, the polluted air was more 'diluted' than in the cities, and the country foul air dispersed at very fast rate.
As an example today, look at pics of Los Angeles, and London a century ago.

I would rather smell manure in the country, than walk over it in the city.:biggrin:

Steve.

 

[duckweed]

I don't know it was a great deal different. Many of my ancestors were rural and then moved to the city. There seemed to be more infants dying in the countryside. One branch left after 5 children dying and after that the number of infants surviving went up. Later on infant mortality rose again (probably due to the population explosion in the cities unemployment and overcrowding. Meanwhile the rural population were doing better, wages had risen a bit and they had better sanitation.