ABSTRACT
Large families were often a desired outcome of Roman marriages; laws were even passed to encourage procreation. Despite this, large families were not the norm. The high infant mortality, miscarriage, and stillbirth rates throughout this period probably contributed to the propensity for small families. While disease, infanticide, and exposure are often invoked for these high infant mortality rates, little attention has been paid to the effects of environmental pollution. It is no secret that the Romans utilised lead like no civilisation before them, suffering its insidious effects. While the concept of Roman populations succumbing to lead poisoning is nothing new, little consideration has been given to the impact of this environmental toxin on infants. As trans-placental transportation of lead occurs uninhibited, maternal lead burden is shared with the unborn child, increasing the risks of prenatal lead poisoning, and often resulting in low birth weight, stillbirth, preterm delivery or spontaneous abortion. It could, therefore, be argued that lead contributed to the high infant mortality rates within Roman populations. This chapter examines the effects of lead poisoning on pregnant women and their unborn children, and how this may link to the high infant mortality rates observed throughout the Roman Empire.
