Medical Humanities: Barbara N. Ramusack, University of Cincinnati "Medical Women and Maternal and Infant Health Programs in Colonial South India"

Medical Humanities Lecture

Dr. Barbara N. Ramusack, University of Cincinnati

Gives the talk: "Medical Women and Maternal and Infant Health Programs in Colonial South India"

In 1917 the Madras municipality in colonial south India, comprised mostly of Indian men, inaugurated maternal and child welfare centers to provide ante- and post-natal care in the poorest areas of the city. This lecture focuses on the Indian medical women who operated these centers and the challenges they faced, especially the expectations of the members of the Municipal Council of Madras. Improved maternal health and infant mortality rates were the stated goal, though gender biases and professional rivalries are shown to be as potent as racial biases in devaluing the performance of Indian medical women in the child welfare centers.


Date of lecture: Nov/9/10

Visit the Taft research center website at: http://www.artsci.uc.edu/taft/

See the rest of the talk in our YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/TaftResearchCenter?feature=mhum