II Congreso Nacional de Pediatría. La lucha contra la mortalidad infantil / II National Congress of Paediatrics: The fight against child mortality

En el presente trabajo se presenta una aproximación a los contenidos de las ponencias del IICongreso Nacional de Pediatría, celebrado en San Sebastián en 1923, con ocasión del centenario del mismo. Se destaca como hilo conductor de las mismas el problema de la mortalidad infantil, que en aquellos años era muy elevada en España y era una preocupación de políticos, de intelectuales y de la clase médica. Se constata que alguna de las propuestas y preocupaciones de los pediatras que asistieron a dicho congreso siguen vigentes hoy en día.(AU)

In this work, we present an overview of the contents of the communications presented at the Second National Congress of Paediatrics, held in San Sebastian in 1923, on the occasion of the 100th year anniversary. The problem of infant mortality stands out as a common thread, which in those years was very high in Spain and was a concern of politicians, intellectuals and the medical profession. It is worth noting that some of the proposals and concerns of the paediatricians who attended that congress continue to be relevant today.(AU)

II National Congress of Paediatrics: The fight against child mortality.

In the present work, we present an overview of the contents of the communications presented at the Second National Congress of Paediatrics, held in San Sebastian in 1923, on the occasion of the 100th year anniversary. The problem of infant mortality stands out as a common thread, which in those years was very high in Spain and was a concern of politicians, intellectuals and the medical profession. It is worth noting that some of the proposals and concerns of the paediatricians who attended that congress continue to be relevant today.

Biografía de una pediatra pionera en España: Nieves González Barrio (1884-1961) / Biography of a pioneering pediatrician in Spain: Nieves González Barrio (1884-1961)

Introducción: podemos encontrar mujeres pioneras en Pediatría y Puericultura en España, a principios del siglo XX, para rescatarlas del olvido y subrayar su papel dentro de la conquista del espacio público para la mujer. Nieves González Barrio (1884-1961) fue una de ellas. Objetivo: describir su vida profesional como pionera médica y pediatra-puericultora (biografía histórica), enmarcada en un contexto humanístico. Material y métodos: estudio histórico, hemerográfico (Biblioteca Nacional de España [BNE], BNF-Gallica [biblioteca de Francia], diario ABC, Memorias de la Junta de Ampliación de Estudios, la propia González Barrio en Blanco y Negro en 1935, y otros). Seleccionados: 22 artículos científicos, más 26 de prensa histórica y libros. Resultados: González Barrio presentó su tesis doctoral en 1915, sobre Kala-Azar. Fue médica pionera en los viajes formativos a EE. UU. Su actividad: la Medicina de Laboratorio y la Pediatría. Fue profesora (1926-1931) en la Escuela Nacional de Puericultura, encargada del laboratorio y de organizar el servicio de enfermeras visitadoras y niñeras. Fue una promotora de la especialización en enfermería. Perteneció a diversas instituciones médicas y educadoras, y de promoción de la mujer (el Lyceum Club femenino y otras). Comentarios: fue de las primeras médicas pediatras en España, doctoradas, y pionera en formación internacional, en investigación y docencia. Su vida profesional se vio truncada por los vaivenes de la política española y de la Sanidad, así como necesidades familiares. Su figura, su determinación personal, su legado, su gran capacidad polifacética y su labor como mujer científica y pediatra merecen ser tenidas en consideración y estudiadas en profundidad (AU)

Introduction. At the beginning of the 20th century, we can find and rescue from oblivion pioneer women in Pediatrics and Puericulture in Spain, to underline their role within the conquest of public space for women. María Nieves González Barrio (1884-1961) was one of them. Objective: to describe her professional life as a pioneering physician and pediatrician-pediatrician-puericulturist (historical biography), framed in a humanistic context.Material and methods. Historical and hemerographic study (BNE-National Library of Spain-, BNF-Gallica (library of France), ABC newspaper, Memoirs of the Junta de Ampliación de Estudios, González Barrio herself in Black and White in 1935, and others). Selected: 22 scientific articles and books, plus 26 historical press articles.Results. González Barrio presented her doctoral thesis in 1915, on Kala-Azar. She was a pioneer physician in formative trips to the USA. Her activity: Laboratory Medicine and Pediatrics. She was a professor at the National School of Puericulture, from 1926 to 1931, in charge of the laboratory and of organizing the service of visiting nurses and nannies. She was a promoter of nursing specialization. She belonged to several medical and educational institutions, and for the promotion of women, such as the Women's Lyceum Club and others.Comments. She was one of the first pediatric doctors in Spain, with a doctorate, and a pioneer in international training, research and teaching. Her professional life was truncated by the ups and downs of Spanish politics and healthcare, as well as family needs. Her figure, personal determination, legacy, her great multifaceted capacity and her work as a woman scientist and pediatrician deserve to be taken into consideration and studied in greater depth. (AU)

A pioneer of Australian paediatrics: Dr Henry Edward Brown (1858-1931).

The emergence of paediatrics as a specialty in Australian medicine dates from the last two decades of the 19th century. Among the pioneers of pre-Federation paediatrics, we include Dr Henry Edward Brown (1858-1931), an Irish-born physician and surgeon who became the first paediatrician to practise in the northern half of the Australian continent. In 1885, he was appointed as the medical superintendent of the Rockhampton Children's Hospital, itself a pioneer institution in the care of sick and injured children. Dr H.E. Brown also served as medical officer of health concurrently in three Queensland shires. He was a leader in the literary and sporting life of the busy port town of Rockhampton and a scholar and significant philanthropist in the domain of French literature. His life was and remains an exemplar of a class of pre-Federation paediatricians who established the ethos of clinical and societal service, which remains as a core feature of the speciality discipline of paediatrics in the 21st century.