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í SÓKN GEGN HJÁTRÚ OG VENJUM
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Summary
This article discusses infant mortality in the parish Nesþing on the
Snæfellsnes peninsula during the period 1881-1910. Nesþing is located
along the seacoast, on the outer end of the peninsula, and infant mortali-
ty was generally higher in coastal settlements than in districts farther
inland. In this district, infant mortality was in fact among the highest in
Iceland for much of the 19,h century. It was not until after 1890 that mor-
tality began to decrease and by 1910 it had dropped below the national
average. An attempt is made to examine the causes for the substantial
decrease in infant mortality during this time, using both quantitative and
qualitative methods.
The sources used shed light on different perspectives, and include
diaries, which provide both evidence of the improvements in health care
and at the same time of parents' sorrow at the loss of their children, annu-
al reports of regional physicians, and church registers. The church regis-