The decline of infant mortality in the Belgian districts at the turn of the 20th century.
This analysis studies the decrease of infant mortality in Belgium at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. In a cluster analysis Belgian districts are grouped together according to the level of infant mortality and the rhythm of decline. These results are confronted with contemporary literature, in particular with medical commission reports. It appears that the spread of the basic principles of child care, through the creation of infant dispensaries, played an important role around World War I.