Safeguarding the Health of Mothers and Children - Maternal and Infant Mortality in the United States, 1941

Sep 28, 2026

Presents 1941 U.S. maternal and infant mortality and birth statistics in the context of wartime strains on housing, sanitation, hospitals, and medical facilities. Highlights a continued decline in infant mortality and an all-time low record, with maternal mortality reduced by 16% from 1940. Reports 7,956 maternal deaths, a maternal mortality rate of 31.7 per 10,000 live births, plus changes in hospital births, stillbirth trends, and the importance of studying vulnerable local areas where conditions may differ.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages16

Reading Time40 min

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SAFEGUARDING THE HEALTH OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Maternal and Infant Mortality in the United States, 1941

Maternal Mortality

Table 1 - Maternal mortality rates in each State, 1941 and 1940

Monthly Bulletin | | February 1943
No.8
Vol.7 | | --- | --- | CONTENTS Page MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY IN THE UNITED STATES,1941,by J.Yerushalmy,Ph.D...··-· ·· 110 FARM ACCIDENT AND INSURANCE PROBLEMS OF YOUNGWORKERS,by Miriam Noll ..117 "THE VERY BEST AMERICAN"- .·-·-- 119 CHILDREN'S BUREAU PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THE HEALTHAND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN IN WARTIME-· ·· 123 U.S.DEPARTMENT OF LABORCHILDREN'SBUREAU E ARE fghting again for human freedom and especially for the future of our children in a free worldChildren must be safeguarded-and they can be safeguarded-in the midst of this total war so thatthey can live and share in that future.—A Children's Charter in Wartime. # SAFEGUARDING THE HEALTI OF MOTHERSAND CHILDREN Maternal and Infant Mortality in the United States,1941 Br J.YERUSHALMr,PH.D.1 Director,Division of Statistical Research,Children's Buren Although not so dramatic,the infant mortal-ity rate continued its steady decline and alsoregistered an all-time low record. TRIKING progress has been made in recentyears in the saving of lives of mothersand infauts.The 1941 figures for maternaland infant mortality show a continuation ofthis favorable trend and establish new all-time low records.This is all the more en-couraging in view of the expanding defenseactivities in 1941,which imposed great strainsou the housing,sanitary,hospital,and medi-cal facilities of many communities. The birth rate,which fell to an all-timelow of 16.6 per 1,000 population in 1933 andhas shown a definitely upward trend since1937,reached 18.9 in 1941.It is remarkablethat in spite of the known inadequacies ofhospital and medical facilities in many partsof the country there was a 10 percent in-crease in 1941 in the proportion of births thattook place in hospitals in the country as awhole.There was also a slight decrease inthe percentage of births attended by non-medical persons.Although statistics on still-births are not very reliable,because of theknown deficiencies in the stillbirth registra-tions,it is nevertheless encouraging to notethat in this case the rate is also on the de-cline and fell below 30 per 1,000 live birthsfor the first time.In spite of all these gainsthe loss of life associated with childbirth andearly infancy is still too high.In 1941.197.-038 lives were reported lost through maternalmortality,stillbirth,and infant mortality. Whether this favorable situation continuedalso after tle country passed from the periodof defense activity to that of war economyCannot be determined with certainty at thistime.The available incomplete figures indi-cate that the downward trend in maternaland infant mortality has not been reversedand nay have continued through 1942.How-ever,a favorable rate for the entire countryor for a State does not necessarily reflectsatisfactory couditions in all the smaller geo-graphic subdivisions.It is possible that anumber of smaller areas which have experi-enced explosive increases in population mayhave suffered high infant and maternal mor'-tality rates.It is,therefore,of extreme im-portance for agencies responsible for the ad-ministration of maternal and child-healthprograns to study currently the vital indicesin such conmunities. A summary of the maternal and infantmortality and birth statistics for 1941,whichhas just been issued by the Division of VitalStatistics of the Bureau of the Census is pre-sented here.² Most outstanding in the 1941 record is the16 percent reduction in maternal mortalityfrom the low rate of 1940.This is equiv:-lent to the saving of some 1.500 mothers'livesin the space of a single year and the savingof nearly 9,000 mothers'lives when comparedwith the maternal mortality rate which wasoperating at the beginning of the last decade. MATEINAL MorTAL.ITY In 1941,7,956 women died from causes di-rectly due to pregnancy and childbirth.Thematernal mortality rate for the year was 31.7per 10,000 live births.This rate is 16 per-cent

FAQs

What were the overall trends in maternal and infant mortality in the United States in 1941?

Infant mortality continued its steady decline and reached an all-time low. Maternal mortality showed a further improvement, with a 16% reduction from the 1940 level.

What was the maternal mortality rate in 1941, and how does it compare with 1940 and 1930?

In 1941 the maternal mortality rate was 31.7 per 10,000 live births. This was 16% lower than 1940 (37.6) and 53% lower than 1930 (67.3).

How did hospitalization of births change in 1941, and what did the document say about stillbirths?

The proportion of births taking place in hospitals increased by 10% in 1941 overall. Although stillbirth statistics were described as unreliable, the rate was also declining and fell below 30 per 1,000 live births for the first time.

Sep 28, 2026

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