Infant mortality rate in Manchester in 1842 was approximately what percentage?

• A. 25%
• B. 75%
• C. 57%
• D. 40%

Answer: (C)

Infant mortality in industrial towns like Manchester during the 1840s shows how deadly living conditions could be for babies when sanitation and housing were so poor. In 1842 Manchester suffered extreme urban distress—overcrowded, unsanitary housing, contaminated water, and frequent disease outbreaks—so a very large share of infants did not survive their first year. The figure around 57% is used to illustrate just how dire the situation could be in that year, much higher than rural or better-off areas and well above what many might expect. That level of mortality helps explain why public health reforms and efforts to improve sanitation, water supply, and housing gained urgency in the following decades. The other options capture lower levels of mortality that don’t reflect the intensity of Manchester’s health crisis in that period, making the 57% estimate the best representation of the era’s extreme child health conditions.