Mothers and King Baby: Infant Survival and Welfare in an Imperial World: Australia 1880–1950

349 Pages·1997·33.566 MB·English

by  Philippa Mein Smith (auth.)

MOTHERS AND KING BABY
Also by Philippa Mein Smith
MATERNITY IN DISPUTE: NEW ZEALAND, 1920-1939
Mothers and King Baby
Infant Survival and Welfare in an Imperial
World: Australia 1880-1950
Philippa Mein Smith
Senior Lecturer in History
University of Canterbury
Christchurch
New Zealand
© Philippa Mein Smith 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 5t edition 1997
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as the author of this work in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 1997 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 978-1-349-14306-1 ISBN 978-1-349-14304-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-14304-7
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and
made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
1098765 4 3 2 I
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Typeset by EXPO Holdings, Malaysia
Contents
List of Figures
Vll
List of Tables viii
List of Abbreviations x
Map of Australia Xlll
Map of New Zealand xiv
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction 1
1. A White Health Transition 8
2. The Major Threat to Babies 37
3. 'Long Live King Baby' 63
4. Prophets, Lady Doctors and Prescriptions 87
5. Storm in a Feeding Bottle 111
6. Movement or Movements? 135
7. Mothers' Practices 162
8. The Newborn and Neonatal Paediatrics 192
9. The Pre-schooler and Child Development 218
Conclusion 244
Notes 248
Bibliography 295
Index 319
v
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Infant Mortality in (A) England and Wales,
(B) the United States, (C) Australia and
(D) New Zealand 11
Figure 1.2 Infant Mortality in the Australian States,
1870-1950: (A) New South Wales,
(B) Victoria, (C) Queensland, (D) South
Australia, (E) Western Australia and
(F) Tasmania 15
Figure 1.3 Fertility Decline, Australia and
New Zealand, 1861-1936 25
Figure 2.1 Monthly Deaths from Diarrhoea and Certain
Diseases at All Ages, Sydney, 1875-1904
(Dr Armstrong's Graph) 42
Figure 2.2 Diarrhoea and Enteritis: Annual Death
Rate per 100,000 of the Population in
New South Wales, 1875-1939 46
Figure 2.3 Infant Mortality in Adelaide Suburbs:
Unley, Port Adelaide and Hindmarsh,
1889-1918 56
Figure 4.1 The Writing on the Wall 92
Figure 4.2 Feeding by the Clock 97
Figure 5.1 Truby King at the Medical Congress,
Melbourne 118
Figure 5.2 Infant Diarrhoea, Dunedin and Hobart,
1913-25 119
Figure 6.1 Baby Health Centres, 1920-50 136
Figure 7.1 Deaths Probably Due to Diarrhoea by
Babies' Age, South Australia, 1911 183
Figure 8.1 Infant and Maternal Mortality, 1880-1950 194
Figure 8.2 Infant and Neonatal Mortality, Victoria,
1870-1970 195
VB
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Mean Infant Mortality Rates in Selected
Countries, 1891-1900: Deaths under
1 year per 1,000 live births 13
Table 1.2 Proportion of Deaths in Infancy, Early
Childhood and Old Age, Australia,
1901-50 18
Table 1.3 Neonatal and Post-neonatal Mortality,
Australia, 1901-45: Rates per 1,000 live
births 20
Table 1.4 Infant Mortality, Metropolis and Rest of
State, New South Wales, Victoria and
South Australia, 1880-1950: Rates per
1,000 live births 22
Table 2.1 Commonest Causes to which Infant
Deaths were Attributed in Victoria and
New South Wales, 1882-1902: Rates per
1,000 live births 44
Table 3.1 Infant Mortality, Melbourne Suburbs,
1904-14: Average Rate per 1,000 live
births 77
Table 6.1 Number of Country Baby Health Centres,
New South Wales, 1945 156
Table 7.1 Attendances at Baby Health Centres,
Victoria, 1927-45 181
Table 7.2 Breast-fed Babies, New South Wales Baby
Health Centres, 1930 184
Table 7.3 Breast-fed Babies, City of Melbourne,
1928: 450 Working-class Babies 185
Table 7.4 Breast-fed Babies, Baby Health Centres,
Victoria, 1927-45 188
viii
List of Tables
Table 8.1 Victoria and Victorian Bush Nursing
Association Stillbirth and Neonatal
Death Rates, 1927-45 198
Table 8.2 Doctor Attendance at Births, 1913-35 200
Table 8.3 Infant Mortality, Melbourne Suburbs,
1934-9 215
Table 9.1 Survey of Defects in Pre-schoolers, City of
Melbourne, 1928-36 222
IX
List of Abbreviations
AA Australian Archives
ADB Australian Dictionary of Biography
AECA Australian Early Childhood Associat
AEHR Australian Economic History Review
AHS A ustralian Historical Studies
AJHR Appendices to the Journals of the House
Representatives, New Zealand
AMA Australian Medical Association, Mel
AMG Australasian Medical Gazette
AMS Australian Mothercraft Society
ANZJS Australian and New ZealandJournal0
AONSW Archives of New South Wales
ARSM Alice Rawson School for Mothers
ATL Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellinl
BHCS Baby Health Centres
BMJ British Medical Journal
CBS Commonwealth Bureau of [Census
Statistics
CHO Chief Health Officer
CMCP City of Melbourne Council Proceed
CPD Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates
CPP Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers
CWA Country Women's Association
DGPH Director-General of Public Health
DT Daily Telegraph
x