Digital Highlights: Child Health in the 1920s

The rise of pediatrics as a specialty in the United States was in part a response to the devastating infant and child mortality due to unsanitary living conditions, contaminated milk, and inadequate and crowded housing, among many other problems.  In the second half of the 19^thcentury, physicians, public health workers, and nurses began a systematic and comprehensive campaign to improve the lives of infants and children. “Milk depots”, which offered low-priced pasteurized milk, were established, and mothers were encouraged to bring their babies and children regularly to well-child clinics to be weighed and examined. The clinics also offered instruction on hygiene and disease prevention.

During the years immediately following World War I, a sharp increase in childhood malnutrition intensified the focus on child welfare and the need for health education not only in the home, but also in schools. Various groups, including the Child Health Organization, founded in 1918, established curricula, published pamphlets for non-professionals, and supported legislation regarding child labor, public health, and food safety. The CHO used innovative and child-friendly methods of teaching, including plays starring Cho Cho the Health Clown, poster contests, plays, parades, and games.

The CHO encouraged children to participate in group activities in order to foster camaraderie in the pursuit of  health, and used personal appearances by Cho Cho as an incentive.

The images here are from Mother and Child, a serial published from 1920 to 1923, digitized from Countway’s collections by the Internet Archive as part of the Medical Heritage Library project and funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Read Mother and Child in the Medical Heritage Library at the Internet Archive by clicking the link.

Cross-posted from CHoM News.