TY  - JOUR
AU  - Steckel,Richard H.
TI  - Dimensions and Determinants of Early Childhood Health and Mortality Among American Slaves
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 1662
PY  - 1985
Y2  - July 1985
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w1662
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w1662.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Richard H. Steckel
Department of Economics
Ohio State University
410 Arps Hall, 1945 North High Street
Columbus, OH  43210-1172
Tel: 614/292-5008
Fax: 614/292-3906
E-Mail: steckel.1@osu.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -