Infant Feeding and Cohort Health: Evidence from the London Foundling Hospital

83 Pages Posted: 25 Jul 2017

See all articles by Vellore Arthi

Vellore Arthi

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Eric Schneider

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: July 2017

Abstract

What was the relationship between breastfeeding and cohort health in the past? We examine this question using a rich new source of longitudinal data on nearly 1,000 children from London's Foundling Hospital (1892-1919). Specifically, we test the association between the feeding regime in infancy and subsequent health, as manifested in mortality risk and anthropometric growth at later points in childhood and adolescence. We find that breastfeeding was positively associated with both survival and weight-for-age in infancy, with scarring dominating culling on net. However, infant-weight gradients in catch-up growth ensured that by mid childhood, these initial feeding-related health differentials had disappeared.

Keywords: Anthropometric growth, Breastfeeding, Early-life health, Mortality

JEL Classification: I14, I15, J13, N33

Suggested Citation

Arthi, Vellore and Schneider, Eric, Infant Feeding and Cohort Health: Evidence from the London Foundling Hospital (July 2017). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP12165, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3008347

Vellore Arthi (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics ( email )

3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
United States

Eric Schneider

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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