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Title: Women and Children's Health: How Far was it a Public Health Concern in Early 20th Century Bombay Presidency?

Where & When:  Thursday, November 17
                           Eggers 341
                           12:30-1:50 pm

Type of Activity:  Public Lecture

Speaking:    Mridula Ramanna, head of the History department, SIES College, University of Mumbai

Summary:   Based on primary source material at the Maharashtra State Archives, the India Office, Wellcome Institute, Cambridge University libraries and the Rockefeller Archive Center in New York, Professor Ramanna examines the effectiveness of early 20th century efforts to provide and improve health care for women and children.  Concern over high rates of maternal mortality led during this time to an Indian initiative in founding and financing obstetric facilities. Professor Ramanna argues that their success depended upon the involvement of Indian women doctors, which slowly increased through the early 20th century.  She also focuses on the contemporary perceptions of the issues surrounding the health of women and infants: the causes of high maternal and infant mortality, the role of midwives, and the health of women mill workers in cities like Bombay.  This analysis is based on the presentations made by both men and women doctors at medical and social welfare conferences held during these years.  Professor Ramanna's Western Medicine and Public Health in Colonial Bombay, 1845-1895 was published in 2002.

 

Sponsorship:  South Asia Center
 

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