Daily AncestorPremature birth
Premature birth on a death record meant a baby born too early, alive but too small or weak to survive; stillborn premature babies were counted apart.
IPUMS gives premature birth and infantile debility one code. The 1911 Census Bureau manual, quoting the American Public Health Association, says premature births born alive belong among deaths, while premature stillbirths go with stillbirths.
When a record called a premature baby stillborn but gave an age in days or hours, registrars were told to count it as a death.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Infant of Henry Lusby, 2 ds., M, W, Feb., Premature birth
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Premature birth." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/premature-birth. Last checked 2026-10-12.