1 Pan American Sanitary Bureau, World Health Organization
Between 1900 and 1956 the average expectation of life at birth increased from 49 to 70 years. Of this increase of 21 years, 5 were added as a result of the decrease in infant mortality alone. An additional decrease of 3 years, in the same period, was due to the lowered mortality of children 1 to 4 years of age.
It is to be hoped that the slight increase in infant mortality in the past 2 years is just a temporary setback. With available medical knowledge there is every reason to look forward to further reductions in future years.