Abstract

At the start of the 20th century, 15% of all infants in England and Wales died in the first year of life. Newman’s classic work Infant mortality, published in 1906, identified the causes of these deaths, the significance of the period immediately after birth, the social problems underlying mortality, and possible methods of prevention. Later, as chief medical officer to the Board of Education (1907–1935) and to the Ministry of Health (1919–1935), he achieved many important and wide ranging improvements to the health of infants and children.