Skip Navigation



Social History of Medicine Advance Access published online on October 25, 2006
Social History of Medicine, doi:10.1093/shm/hkl041
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Rapid PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/3/443    most recent
hkl041v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ferguson, A. H.
Right arrow Articles by Nicolson, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on the behalf of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. All rights reserved

Article

The Glasgow Corporation Milk Depot 1904-1910 and its Role in Infant Welfare: An End or a Means?

Angus H. Ferguson 1 *, Lawrence T. Weaver 2 *, and Malcolm Nicolson 1 *

1 Centre for the History of Medicine, Department of Economic and Social History, University of Glasgow, Lilybank House, Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RT, UK
2 Division of Developmental Medicine, University of Glasgow

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Angus H. Ferguson, E-mail: A.Ferguson{at}arts.gla.ac.uk
Lawrence T. Weaver, E-mail: lweaver{at}clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Malcolm Nicolson, E-mail: wellmn{at}arts.gla.ac.uk


  Abstract

The role of nutrition in combating high rates of infant mortality was an important topic in the first decade of the twentieth century. Seeking to mirror the success of the French Consultations de Nourissons and Gouttes de Lait, English municipal depots aimed to provide vulnerable infants with sterilised cow's milk modified to resemble breast milk. This idea was adopted by Glasgow Corporation when it instigated an infant milk depot in 1904. However, in this paper we suggest that, learning from the English experience, there was a good deal of scepticism in Glasgow, even among the key proponents of the venture, that the provision of milk would, in and of itself, provide a solution to the problem of infant mortality. Rather, while it was hoped that the depot would bring benefit, this strategy was regarded from the outset as only part of a growing portfolio of infant welfare measures. Early involvement with Glasgow's Milk Depot brought together local political and medical interests and led two individuals--Baillie W. F. Anderson and the city's Medical Officer of Health A. K. Chalmers--to prominence in national debates in this field. As a city which played a significant role, both in the milk depot movement and the broader promotion of infant welfare, Glasgow provides fresh insight into this topic in the first decade of the twentieth century.

Keywords: infant welfare; nutrition; milk depot; infant mortality; Consultations de Nourissons; Gouttes de Lait; public health; Glasgow.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Soc Hist MedHome page
L. T. Weaver
'Growing Babies': Defining the Milk Requirements of Infants 1890-1910
Soc Hist Med, November 7, 2009; (2009) hkp058v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.