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153 E arly in the 20th century the problem of infant mortality was on every one’s mind. Doctors, nurses, members of the clergy, politicians, intellectuals , “maternalist” feminists—all were calling for the eradication of this scourge, each attempting to contribute to the campaign. However, underlying this coalition there were tensions and even open conflicts between the various parties. This was because in the name of child welfare each was defending its own political, ideological, economic, or professional interests, which were not necessarily compatible. The process of medicalizing maternity that accompanied the struggle against infant mortality was thus shaped not only by the very broad social consensus that it was able to create, but also by the power struggles that set its promoters at one another ’s throats. All for One As we saw in the preceding chapter, the development of services for mothers and babies in the early decades of the 20th century involved a range of social actors who can be considered partners in the struggle for child welfare. Within this coalition, held together by nationalist sentiment, it is obvious that physicians held a privileged position, for they represented themselves and were seen as exclusive proprietors of the knowledge that could save children’s lives. If they were figures of authority even among the ranks of the elite, however, the physicians greatly needed allies if they were to make any impact on the female population. During the early decades of the 20th century especially, when mothers were still quite unfamiliar with medical discourse and advice, the support of women’s groups, women volunteers, nurses, and the clergy was not only necessary but even crucial to ensure widespread dissemination of their precepts. five Bitter Struggles 154 babies FoR tHe nation This dependence of doctors on various groups was openly recognized by a number of them, public health doctors especially. Early in the century, for instance, Dr. Corsin pointed out that to operate properly an infant care clinic needed the presence of female volunteers, since only they possessed the commitment and concern for others that were needed to make it function smoothly.1 Without them the clinics were in danger of collapsing, as did indeed occur in Montreal before members of the FnsJb began making systematic visits to convince mothers in poor neighbourhoods to make use of their parish Goutte de lait. According to Madeleine Huguenin, Dr. Boucher, the head of the MDH, “with the wisdom so characteristic of him” had understood “that to secure the success of this humanitarian work it was necessary to ensure female collaboration.”2 Dr. Baudouin, among others, was similarly full of praise for the Assistance maternelle, which he liked to describe as an “admirable” charity, whose merits could “never be praised enough.”3 The members of the child welfare committee established by the bHPQ in 1920 to devise a program to combat infant mortality throughout Quebec wished to see this charity extend its activities to the entire province, so obvious did they consider its utility: “The committee wishes to stress particularly the considerable contribution that can be made by the committees of the Assistance maternelle, and would like them to become standard throughout the entire province.”4 So at least a portion of the medical profession was aware of, and even grateful for, the assistance that women and women’s groups were able to provide in spreading the new norms of infant care. The social involvement of these maternalists was effective in increasing the awareness of mothers who, the physicians believed, then became more receptive to their discourse. Early in the 1920s, Dr. Baudouin put the FnsJb and the bHPQ on the same footing when he described both of them as “services of public utility,” since both had contributed equally to the spread of the gospel of hygiene and therefore to the decline in infant mortality: You are entitled to our gratitude, you, Ladies, who ... have understood that [the] beneficial influence you wish to exert could not ... be fully effective without a knowledge and appreciation of the principles of hygiene.... So you set about organizing hygiene courses.... [You] will have collaborated in the effort for national salvation pursued by the Montreal Department of Health by organizing public lectures [and] by encouraging the use of the Gouttes de lait.... So the part you have played in lowering the infant mortality rate deserves recognition.5 In a way, it can be said that the physicians had no alternative to accepting the presence of women who in...

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