This is the first scholarly study to focus on Jewish women's experience of childbirth and infant care. In late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain there was deep concern about the perceived physical and military deterioration of the nation, reflected in the diminishing birth rate, persistently high infant mortality, and the poor health of the working class, revealed by army recruitment. Many medical practitioners and politicians believed that Jewish mothers were `model mothers' whose exemplary care of their children offered a solution to these problems. Lara Marks assesses the extent to which the stereotype of Jewish mothers reflected the reality of their experience in East London between 1870 and 1939. Not only did they have to cope with extreme poverty, but as newly arrived immigrants had to deal with linguistic and cultural barriers, as well as the unfamiliarity of local medical facilities. Nevertheless, as Dr Marks shows, Jewish mothers and their infants had clearly indicated by the remarkably low rate of Jewish infant mortality, and she examines the reasons for this. Model Mothers makes important contributions to our knowledge of maternal and infant care in this period and to our understanding of the interactions between ethnicity and health-care.
Reviews
'fine study' Times Literary Supplement
the wide variety of sources and thorough analysis of findings gives this work, intended for academics and advanced undergraduates, a broader focus than the title might suggest...a valuable source for anyone interested in the health care of the working class. * History *
an original and very precise study...'Model Mothers' is a richly documented study...suggestive and rewarding study * English Historical Review *
a book which constructively combines questions of gender and ethnicity ... Model Mothers provides a rich and critical examination of Jewish motherhood and health provision ... a fine study that will appeal to historians of medicine as well as those of gender and ethnicity * A. James Hammerton, La Trobe University, Albion, Winter '95 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198204541
Author Lara V. Marks
Format Hardback
Page Count 342
Imprint Clarendon Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 605g
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 163mm * 25mm