Maternity Nursing Stops Too Soon.

Editor's note: From its first issue in 1900 through to the present day, AJN has unparalleled archives detailing nurses' work and lives over more than a century. These articles not only chronicle nursing's growth as a profession within the context of the events of the day, but also reveal prevailing societal attitudes about women, health care, and human rights. Today's nursing school curricula rarely include nursing's history, but it's a history worth knowing. To this end, From the AJN Archives highlights articles selected to fit today's topics and times. In this article from October 1975, Reva Rubin provides a fascinating historical overview of maternity nursing. She recounts the social and medical transformation of maternity care in the 20th century, emphasizing the nearly nonexistent support for pregnant, laboring, and postpartum women during much of that time. Rubin ends her article with a passionate plea to nurses for attention to "our big failure . . . the postpartum period." She hints at the causes of what we now know to be postpartum depression, calling the postpartum period "unbelievably cruel," and noting that "tissue recovery is fairly simple. Recovery of the whole person, however, is much more complex and requires much more skilled nursing." In this issue, Barbara Marie Alba carries on the work of Rubin and other maternity nursing pioneers, providing a detailed overview of this subject in "Postpartum Depression: A Nurse's Guide."-Betsy Todd, MPH, RN.

The Island of Alternatives: Power, Medical Science, and "Gentle Birthing" in Socialist Czechoslovakia.

Beginning in the early 1980s, medical experts and birthing women increasingly voiced criticism of what had long been the technocratic, depersonalized nature of obstetric treatment in Czechoslovakia, despite the limited opportunities for them to do so publicly. A few maternity hospitals responded to the complaints by introducing radically different regimens of care. This article examines the history of one reformist project that took place in the small town of Ostrov nad Ohrí. Ostrov means "island" in Czech and, during the last decade of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, the Ostrov hospital became an island of alternative obstetric care, embracing Leboyer's method of "gentle birthing," acupuncture, fathers in delivery rooms, and assorted technological innovations that aimed to spark fundamental change in familial and social relationships, and humanize childbirth. While many medical professionals decried these reforms as nonsensical and dangerous, a number of parents-to-be flocked to Ostrov to give birth, circumventing the official rules mandating that they receive healthcare in their area of residence. This proactive consumerist behavior among expectant parents, in tandem with the call of some physicians for more attention to individual and family needs, despite the opposing official political discourse, is evidence of a grassroots movement for market-oriented principles in healthcare that reflected broader societal change during the last decade of the Communist regime.

A reconfiguração do cuidado de enfermagem materno infantil: o caso do hospital das clínicas da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (1968-1984) / The reconfiguration of maternal and child nursing care: The case of Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (1968-1984)

Estudo histórico-social que toma como objeto a reconfiguração do cuidado de enfermagem materno infantil à luz da criação do curso de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, no âmbito do Hospital das Clínicas, no estado do Espírito Santo no período entre 1968 e 1984. O recorte temporal se estende de 1968, ano da Reforma Universitária e criação da maternidade, a 1984, ano do lançamento oficial do Programa de Assistência Integral da Saúde da Mulher. Os objetivos da tese são: descrever as circunstâncias que culminaram com a necessidade de reconfiguração do cuidado de enfermagem materno infantil no âmbito do Hospital das Clínicas; analisar as estratégias adotadas pela chefe da Maternidade, docente da UFES, para reconfigurar o cuidado de enfermagem no Hospital das Clínicas; e discutir os efeitos simbólicos dessas estratégias na maternidade do Hospital das Clínicas. Os achados foram iluminados pelos conceitos da Teoria do Mundo Social, desenvolvida pelo sociólogo francês Pierre Bourdieu. As fontes primárias de pesquisa constituíram de documentos escritos, orais e iconográficos, enquanto as secundárias foram compostas do acervo bibliográfico existente sobre a referida temática. Na realização do estudo, foram atendidos os preceitos éticos da Resolução 466/2012 do Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Os principais resultados demonstram três marcos na assistência de enfermagem neste cenário: 1968 a 1974; 1974 a 1979 e 1980 a 1984, nos quais as enfermeiras utilizaram de estratégias para garantir ocupação e posição no campo da maternidade. A presença de uma enfermeira docente, de 1976 até meados de 1980, detentora de discurso autorizado na liderança do Serviço de Maternidade, possibilitou a ocupação de um campo de dominação, representando uma ruptura na hegemonia do modelo médico de parto hospitalar. Assim, ocupou espaço no campo e adquiriu autoridade científica para falar e agir legitimamente, reconfigurando o habitus profissional no cuidado ao parto e puerpério com ganhos simbólicos para a enfermagem.(AU)

La inauguración de la Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina de Madrid y su Escuela de Matronas / The opening of the Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina de Madrid and its school of midwifery

INTRODUCCIÓN: La Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina y Escuela Especial de Matronas fue una de las primeras escuelas para matronas fundadas en Madrid y en España. El edificio que la albergaba, un hospital destinado a cuidados obstétrico-ginecológicos, se inauguró en la capital de España en 1924, veinte años después de la colocación de la primera piedra. OBJETIVO: Analizar los orígenes de la institución, y explicar cómo fueron los primeros años de su funcionamiento y las repercusiones que esto tuvo sobre el colectivo de matronas de la época. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Investigación histórica que utiliza diversas fuentes primarias, como el informe de su primer director, José Gálvez Ginachero, y otros documentos procedentes de diferentes fuentes hemerográficas y documentos de archivo originales obtenidos en diversos archivos nacionales. RESULTADOS: En sus primeros años de funcionamiento, la Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina y Escuela Especial de Matronas (posteriormente, Escuela Oficial de Matronas) formó a estas profesionales con el objetivo de que fuesen fundamentalmente meros auxiliares para los médicos en el parto. Se han localizado en los archivos a 32 matronas que estudiaron en la institución desde su inauguración hasta el curso 1934/1935. Aunque el número inicial de alumnas fue escaso, con los años fue incrementándose progresivamente. CONCLUSIONES: La inauguración de la Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina mejoró la formación práctica de estas profesionales, pero también se convirtió en una herramienta para su control y su subordinación profesional a la figura del médico. También constituyó el inicio de la institucionalización del parto en Madrid

INTRODUCTION: The Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina and its school of midwifery was a women's hospital and one of the first schools for mid-wives on Madrid and also in Spain which opened in 1924, twenty years after its founding stone was laid. AIM: The purpose of this historiographic essay is to show the origins of this hospital, to explain the first years of its functioning and its consequences on midwifery care during childbirth. METHODOLOGY: Historical research which uses primary sources such as the report of José Gálvez Ginachero, the first director in the institution, and other files obtained from hemerographic sources of information and original archive documents from various national archives. RESULTS: The Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina and its school of midwifery formed midwives in order to be merely assistants for doctors. We have found 32 midwives formed in this institution during the first ten years of its functioning. In the beginning, only two or three midwives a year, but this number was progressively growing on. CONCLUSIONS: The opening of the Casa de Salud de Santa Cristina improved the practical training of midwives but also was a way for professional control and subordination of midwives in Spain. It also contributed to the institutionalization of childbirth in Madrid

Maternal expectations: new mothers, nurses, and breastfeeding.

By the middle of the 20th century, breastfeeding rates had fallen to less than 20% in some areas of the United States. Despite these grim statistics, many mothers continued to seek information, advice, and the experience of breastfeeding their infants. This article explores the role that nurses played in these women's struggles to breastfeed in the years between the end of World War II and the 1970s. The role of the nurse in shaping the meaning and experience of breastfeeding in America has been an important, albeit often overlooked, part of the history of infant feeding. In addition to exploring the ways in which hospital policies and structures shaped nurses' relationships with breastfeeding mothers, this article looks at how different maternal ideologies influenced the nature of these (mostly) same-sex interactions. This article argues that the ideas about, and experiences with, motherhood had important implications for how nurses and mothers approached the practice of breastfeeding in the hospital.

Dr. Ruth lubic, a timeliness and tireless visionary for childbearing families.

The author describes her interview with Dr. Ruth Lubic, a visionary in the field of maternal-child nursing and discusses an early publication of Dr. Lubic's in the Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Neonatal Nursing. Dr. Lubic's many accomplishments are highlighted.

Evolución histórica de la lactancia materna. Derechos y conciliación familiar / Historical evolution of breastfeeding. Rights and family conciliation

La leche humana ha sido y es un importante medio de supervivencia para el ser humano. La historia de la lactancia materna ha estado unida a la situación social y cultural de la mujer y ha pasado por distintas vicisitudes. Durante un largo periodo fue considerada como una práctica antiestética, indigna y propia de clases bajas; las mujeres que disponían de recursos utilizaban nodrizas. En el siglo xix aparece la lactancia artificial que se desarrollará de forma importante a partir de mediados del siglo siguiente, relegando, de nuevo, a un segundo plano a la lactancia natural. Con el inicio del siglo xx aparecen los primeros derechos de los trabajadores y entre ellos se regula por primera vez el derecho al permiso para lactancia. Con el avance del siglo diversas normas amplían su contenido. Así se llega al momento actual en el que el derecho goza de un amplio reconocimiento legal dentro de las normas que regulan la conciliación familiar(AU)

Human milk has been and it is an important means of survival for the human being. The history of the breastfeeding has been linked to the woman's social and cultural situation and it has gone by different vicissitudes. During a long period the breastfeeding was considered as an unsightly, unworthy practice and characteristic of low classes, women that had resources nurses used. In the xix century artificial nursing appears that will be developed significantly starting from half-filled of the following century, relegating, again, to a second plane to the natural nursing. With the beginning of the xx century the first rights of the workers appear and among them it is regulated the right for the first time to the permission for nursing. With the advance of the century diverse norms enlarge their content. Arriving to the current moment in which the right enjoys a wide legal recognition inside the norms that regulate the family reconciliation(AU)

Edna Dell Weinel, champion of public health nursing--excerpts from an oral history. Interview by Irene Kalnins.

Edna Dell Weinel is a former executive director (1980--1991) of the Family Care Center, a federally funded neighborhood health center in St. Louis, Missouri; this position capped her career as a county public health nurse, state maternal-child nursing consultant, and educator. In all her positions, Weinel lived her values: working at one's highest level of skill, social justice, and teamwork, and used political skills to build alliances for the improvement of community health. Her many contributions to public health and public health nursing were recognized by the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association in 1993 with the Ruth B. Freeman Distinguished Career award. In interviews conducted early in 2007, Weinel spoke of her pride in being a public health nurse, her unchanging belief that health care can best be delivered by teams, and that public health nurses are an essential part of any effective team.

Prenatal care: limitations and opportunities.

Prenatal care is a venerable tradition in the U.S. health care system and one that deserves critical examination. Inordinate amounts of public and personal resources are expended on a tradition of care that has not proven itself equal to current perinatal prevention challenges. In this article, the evolution of prenatal care is reviewed, its efficacy is critiqued, and efforts at restructuring the content and processes of care are examined. Three promising alternatives to the dominant medical model are described: the comprehensive prenatal care approach illustrated by many publicly funded prenatal clinics, the prenatal empowerment model as exemplified by midwifery care, and the prenatal group model as illustrated by CenteringPregnancy. Nurses are called upon to champion prenatal options for women.

From innovation to common practice: perinatal nursing pre-1970 to 2005.

The history of perinatal nursing from before 1970 to the present is characterized by innovations that became common practice in later years. These innovations include fetal monitoring, mother/baby care, and early postpartum discharge. The driving forces behind changes in care within the social context of the times were scientific/medical developments and families' desires for the best possible childbearing experience. With innovations becoming commonplace, nursing practice became more complex. How nurses approach present-day challenges of increasing technology of birth, looming threats of litigation, and providing care under time and economic restraints is continuing to evolve.