The present manuscript addresses one of the most representative examples of forms of the early twentieth century in Mexico, which provides mothers with advice for the proper care of their children. This issue gained relevance since the nineteenth century and was spearheaded by physicians who instructed women in order to reduce the high rates of infant mortality and thereby contribute to the strengthening of the population. This action became relevant in the context of the strengthening of the guidelines of the Department of Public Health.
Keywords: Health, Hygiene, Mothers, Physicians, children
"LADY: Read this book carefully and never destroy it; always keep it within reach. If you have any friend interested in owning this book, tell her that she can get a copy at no cost to her, absolutely free, asking to Mrs. Aida S. Rodriguez. "
These are the opening words that the reader, or in this case the female reader- found when opening the “Book to the Mexican mother”, which was published and widely distributed in 1933 and 1934 (Figure 1). At first glance, when someone finds this book in hands seems to be just as any another book within the broad production of literature for women that occurred since the last decades of the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth century. Another book that gave advice to the good care of the family and home. But if you look more closely at this book, the curious reader can dig a little deeper into their pages about the construction of the care of mothers and their children at that historic moment when it was developed and disseminated. So, I will discuss briefly the context in which this book appeared, its content and its scope and limitations.
Tips for good care of mothers and their children became more emphasized in Mexico over the last three decades of the nineteenth century, thanks to various practices that were articulated to spread best hygiene habits among the various sectors of the population, while the idea of citizen was emphasized; so people should pay attention to everyday hygiene and health conditions since childhood. For health authorities, it was clear that if the living conditions of citizens did not improve since childhood, the population in adulthood would reflect unattended health problems and dwindle the ideal of a healthy and productive population.
Precepts that were widespread and by early 1920, once the revolutionary armed struggle, one of the key ideas that doctors, inspectors, school nurses, and teachers were responsible for spreading among school children and their families was:
The child with appropriate development, hygienic life, with a room with good ventilation and light, with nutritious food, who makes suitable and methodological exercises, sleeping the hours needed according to its age, who adequately cleans, etc. That child will be better able to fight versus pathogens. However, children who live without sanitation; in dirty, stuffy, dark rooms, with food poor in quality and quantity, who does not care about personal hygiene, etc., that child will be in the most favorable conditions to catch all kinds of communicable diseases.
At this point, doctors championed the ideal of a healthy child who framed the measure to the restructuring of the post-revolutionary Mexico that would work on the following decades; including, as just mentioned, family and school contexts. Hygiene was the cornerstone, where doctors established various speeches and actions that were implemented during the following years in order to cover more and more of the population. This was done by means of an “intense propaganda for hygiene" among parents, teachers and children through advice, lectures, booklets, brochures, and daily newspapers:
Therefore, children must live in their home with the best possible hygienic conditions and school must also be in the same conditions. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, the children attending municipal schools, do not live in model houses, and schools are not adequate, so our desires must come to this ideal: hygienic home, model school, normal, physical and moral development of children in relation to the most humanitarian requirement: hygiene.
Ideal which continued to guide the actions of doctors through the time and in 1927 the words of Bernardo Gastélum, Head of the Department of Public Health, emphasized that the "real duty to his country and to his race" was taking care of life. He considered that "the destiny of people is fundamentally linked to their demographic power. Therefore, a village with a small population and where thousands of children die, it can never be, despite the idealism of its superior intelligence, a great village"
Since 1929, the Department of Public Health of Mexico has had several Child Health Centers, which formed part of a wider process for institutionalization of child care in post-revolutionary Mexico, headed by the mandates of presidents Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio and Abelardo Rodriguez. Stage where it was argued that due to the ignorance of the masses and especially mothers, along with the total lack of hygienic care, precautions and eating habits of children, Mexico was one of the countries where more children died. Child protection demanded effective cooperation from the private sector, because it was impossible for the government to solve the problem of infant mortality in its entirety. That was how Carmen Garcia, the wife of President Emilio Portes Gil had an active collaboration and in that year the Child Protection National Association was created together with people interested in the child welfare.
A few years later, Mrs. Aida S. from Rodriguez, wife of President Abelardo Rodriguez, joined these actions to combat child mortality through the dissemination of maternal care and child health, and in 1933 she ordered to publish the “Book for the Mexican mother”. A book format of 14 x 19 cm, comprising 140 pages extensively illustrated (Figure 2). The preparation and drafting of the work was led by doctor Manuel Martinez Baez, who had the cooperation of doctors Francisco de Paula Miranda, Mario Torroella and Manuel Cardenas de la Vega. Doctors despite having interests in various branches of Medicine, they came together in the 1920s and 1930s in the child health care. Mario Torroella and Manuel Cardenas were key figures in what now is known as the specialty of Pediatrics and both, along with Francisco Miranda have served in the Child Health Centers in Mexico City and some other units of the Department of Public Health. With this, I want to emphasize that the “Book for the Mexican mother” was written by several of the most prominent physicians of that time dedicated to childcare. In this sense, the interest of Mrs. Aida from Rodriguez was that the precepts of hygiene and maternal care in newborn and toddlers made by doctors, should be passed with a simple language to Mexican mothers. So, the book was formed by an introduction and two main sections in which various issues were addressed.
The first item listed is that one of the necessary preparations before the birth of the child, in which it was emphasized that health -the basis of happiness- was an indispensable requirement to father healthy children; so, the doctor should be the guide leading the proper course of pregnancy through medical consultation. Also, doctor gives advice on the care and hygiene that women must have during pregnancy, during delivery and the first two years of life of your child (Figure 3).
The father figure is barely seen throughout the text, in fact, it only appears in five of the more than fifty illustrations of the publication. The father is present to take responsibility for his good health before breeding, not to drink alcohol, nor to possess a sexually transmitted disease like syphilis. The husband appears to be responsible for driving his wife to medical consultations, to provide her with the necessary, materially and emotionally, such as a peaceful pregnancy, to monitor that she is properly addressed by doctors or birth attendants at the childbirth time and register the newborn in the Civil Registry. Outside these times, it seems that the presence of the father is over-understood or relegated to be full responsibility of the new human being, exclusively of the mother.
But, who is this Mexican mother who so worries Mrs. Aida S. from Rodriguez? Throughout the pages of the book, two types of mothers are described. The first one, which clearly is the target of most of the tips: urban middle-class mother. However, she is not "ignorant" and "superstitious". She does not listen to "stories" and “irresponsible popular fables” that can lead to mistakes in taking care of their children, mistakes that often can finish in tragedy and; therefore, she must meet the simple tips of the Book. This last one is the mother of the popular urban and rural sectors (Figure 4). Although the boards are given in general, you can see which are aimed at each. But beyond this social differentiation, the pregnant woman should understand that she is destined by nature for the reproduction of the species and that she is made to fill that mission and has to meet with joy as the noble duty of motherhood and personally raising children.
Responsibility in which the woman is not alone, since at all times she can count on the help and guidance of doctors and nurses, who are always willing to guide her in the Child Health Centers, in maternity wards and other units of the Department of Public Health.
Healthy eating, outdoor exercise, body grooming, rest, and proper clothing in clean, airy and bright rooms, with a quiet life lead women to take an uncomplicated pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. The newborn care has to include an environment free of dirt, warm and well fed by their mothers. The issue of feeding the child is very important and this is thoroughly discussed in the second part of the book, covering breastfeeding, bottle feeding and how they should go offering different foods to the child, from three months to two years old. Finally, the book mentions the importance of properly addressing “childhood diseases” and vaccinating to the children to prevent the spread of diseases such as smallpox, chickenpox, measles, rubella, scarlet fever, whooping cough, diphtheria and apricots (Figure 5).
According to the book, careful monitoring of these tips will result that children grow up could be healthy and strong. As "from a weak and sickly being, the devotion of active and intelligent mother is able to obtain a strong and healthy individual, useful to society and family; and no doubt that from a robust and normal child, by ignorance or negligence of the mother, this child can degenerate into sickly and bottom, forming a moral and economic task to their families".
These wishes of Mrs. Aida S. from Rodriguez and physicians dedicated to children were embodied in the book, but it was necessary to distribute these books among the population. School teachers (especially rural school), municipal authorities and the Health Department were the responsible for distributing the Book. According to “El Nacional” newspaper on January 27, 1934, "thousands of Mexican women of all social classes" had been benefited by the advice of the book, especially "humblest women, poorest farmers, those who do not even read or write, but with the need to raise their children, they find helpful tips to achieve this purpose”. In fact, the newspaper noted that the first lady of Mexico had received a considerable number of letters of women from different parts of the Republic who appreciated that the book had come into their possession. Such was the case of Mrs. Natividad Medina, from the population of Pinos, Zacatecas. She said "the advices on the pages of the book are so clear, simple and easy to meet, that it is sufficient that the book has been read by a woman (even with low intelligence) to avoid the many dangers surrounding a newborn child”. For Ms. Natividad mortality among infants of the population had declined by the precepts of the book.
Moreover, Cástulo Cerrito, worker of the National Railways of Mexico, wrote on behalf of his wife (who could not read or write) some thankful words to the wife of the president of Mexico. She mentioned that "if all the wives of the presidents put more attention to the Indians, the Indians would love them more and would support governments to help us." She noted that many of the coworkers of Cástulo wanted a copy of the book and asked her not to forget them.
It was stated that rural teachers had distributed more than twenty-three thousand copies of the work between indigenous and although not all of them could not read or own a copy, it is assumed that many of these tips were transmitted by talks and illustrations stated in the minds of the population.
Not only the concern of Mrs. Aida S. from Rodriguez was what prompted the writing of the book to the Mexican mother, but also the medical discourse helped shape the image of an "ideal" child, opposed to a "not ideal" child (a sickly child with developmental problems). Also, "the high infant mortality recorded in Mexico" was imposed as a justification and therefore "the urgent need to inject a vibrant life force in our race, through healthy and strong generations, free from hereditary evil generations deficiencies caused by poor diet or poor hygiene". If Mexican mothers used the "basic and practical" guidelines of the Book, they would "raise a generation of healthy, strong and happy children, filled with happiness to their parents and these children will become tomorrow in men with job skills and they will be true motives of pride for our nation" (Figure 6).
The book for the Mexican mother has the virtue of having collected and disseminated the rules of hygiene, which had been propagated decades ago by doctors and government authorities. On the other hand, it shows the importance of the participation of various groups of individuals to promote children's health care, as was the case with the National Association of Child Protection.
These precepts of maternal and child health continued to spread and somehow impacted various sectors of the Mexican population, mainly urban groups of middle and upper classes; although there was extensive work to cover the lower classes and reach all corners of the Republic. It is noteworthy that took place the celebration of the First Week of Mothers and Children throughout the country on July, 20th,1939. At that celebration, " they tried essentially to awaken the sense of public responsibility, for all social sectors fixing their attention and cooperation to solve the fundamental problem of our country: the protection of Mothers and Children".
Although obviously, it was about very best wishes, these actions contributed to the decline of the terrible infant mortality rates in the country.
This was a stage where solid foundations were settled to launch a government child care program covering more and more children, both in the Federal District and in the various states of the Republic.
In this sense, the publication and distribution of the book to the Mexican mother makes more sense, since it joined the work headed in the 1930s to form the generations of healthy and strong citizens who demanded the construction of a stronger country, an ideal that still followed in construction to the mid-20th century (Figure 7).
As it was noted, while the number of people who had access to the precepts and principles of hygiene was a minority of the population due to the high rates of illiteracy; the importance acquired by the spread of "hygiene" was not in the actual number of readers rather it was expressing the desire: set habits and customs and promote a strong discipline of the population. Longing that certainly promoted the book to a Mexican mother.
1. Martínez Báez, Manuel, et al., Libro para la Madre Mexicana, suggested by Aída S. from Rodríguez. Manuel Martínez Báez, Francisco de P. Miranda, Mario Torroella and Manuel Cárdenas de la Vega, México, 1934.
2. Aguirre, Agustín. Profilaxis de las enfermedades transmisibles de los niños en la edad escolar. Boletín del Departamento de Salubridad Pública, segunda época, t. i, numbers 7-12, 1921, pp. 203-212, pp. 210.
3. Boletín del Departamento de Salubridad Pública, Publicación trimestral, México, D. F., Tomo III, 1927, Editorial Cultura, pp. 273.
4. Fuentes, ML. La asistencia social en México. Historia y perspectivas, México, ediciones del Milenio, 1998, pp. 38.
5. Rodríguez de Romo AC, Castañeda López G, Robles Valencia R. Protagonistas de la Medicina Científica Mexicana, 1800-2006, México, unam / Facultad de Medicina, Plaza y Valdés Editores, 2008.
Figure 1. The book for the Mexican Woman.
Figure 2. Mexican Family. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman.
Figure 3. Mother with her husband. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman.
Figure 4. Pregnant woman with her friends. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman.
Figure 5. Vaccination of children. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman.
Figure 6. Special care for children. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman
Figure 7. Hygienic habits in children. Illustration of the book for the Mexican Woman.
[a] mechestar21@hotmail.com
Área Académica de Medicina
Department of Medicine
Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud
School of Health Sciences
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo