FOR THE GOOD OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN: The Protection of Mothers and Children between 1919 and 1941

Despite its financial problems, other difficulties, and criticism, the administrative unit and subsequently the Banate Administration strived to ensure the best possible health and social protection of mothers and children. Mothers had a range of social and health institutions that provided childcare aid at their disposal. Still, most mothers would refrain from taking advantage of these options or turned to these institutions only when it was already too late. Not even half of the mothers made regular use of the maternity counselling services that played the central role in promoting hygiene, infant and child nursing. The conviction that these activities were profoundly important for prevention had obviously not yet asserted itself broadly until the 1920s and 1930s. Progress was especially slow in the countryside. The traditional frame of mind, unfamiliar with the principles of preventive medicine, probably contributed to this. However, we should also take into account that peasant mothers were far too busy with household and agricultural chores. The observation of Dr Bogo Dragaš, Head of the state Institute for the Protection of Mothers and Children, regarding the visits to the infant counselling services is very interesting. Mothers would often attend counselling only for as long as they kept receiving support. Allegedly this was most noticeable in the consultation rooms of medical insurance funds. Until the mothers kept receiving aid in the form of laundry, ointments, washing powder, oil, etc., they attended counselling regularly. However, as soon as such support was abolished due to the shortage of resources, attendance dwindled as well.