You'll Spoil That Baby! -- Vintage Baby and Child Care Advice

Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe's claim to fame was that he was the personal physician to the Dionne Quintuplets from their birth on May 28, 1934, until his resignation from the position in 1942. In between he wrote two books, numerous articles (possibly with some assistance from some ghostwriters), and made numerous radio appearances on the hottest radio shows of the day. He became the most famous doctor of the day and was portrayed in at least two Hollywood films.

Dr. Benjamin Spock's bestselling book Baby and Child Care was first published under the title The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care in 1946. Spock's ideas were revolutionary for the day: he told parents that they were the true experts when it came to raising their children (a rather shocking notion in an era when doctor-worshipping was the norm). During his lifetime (1903-1998), his book sold 50 million copies and was translated into 39 languages. His book is still in print.

First published in 1908 by Glaxo (today leading pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, but back then a small powdered milk manufacturer), The Glaxo Baby Book answered mothers' questions about using the company's powdered milk to feed their babies. By 1922, the company had published a million copies of the book and the campaign had been heralded by Advertising Age magazine as "the most successful form of advertising of the present day."

The Canadian Mother and Child was published by the Canadian government in an attempt to provide Canadian mothers with the best pregnancy and childrearing advice of the day. Mothers were advised to listen to their doctors -- and no one else -- when it came to the health of themselves and their babies. "Avoid medical books as such reading is easily subject to misinterpretation, and may cause undue worry over minor symptoms. Your doctor is by far your best guide....Gatherings such as bridges and teas, are often occasions of unwise discussions as to the relative merits of doctors. After careful consideration you have chosen a doctor, therefore do not let yourself be influenced by those who are not qualified to advise....To be happy, you need to have complete confidence in your doctor. Anyone criticizing him to you (and at the same time in your condition) lacks discernment to say the least and should not be taken seriously." (Ernest Couture, MD, The Canadian Mother and Child. Ottawa: Minister of Health and Welfare, 1st edition, 7th printing, 1947)

A Motherlode of Advice
From Pablum to the Pill, from maternity wear to Mr. Dressup, Ann Douglas chronicles a century in Canuck parenting

By Ann Douglas

Think you've heard your share of unwanted parenting tips and conflicting research about raising healthy, happy kids? Well, you're not alone. There's a long tradition of expert flip-flops and changing parenting philosophies stretching back generations. If you thought Aunt Mabel's tips about potty training were annoying, just wait until you hear about all the misguided advice and weird science parents have had to put up with over the last 100 years or so.

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Traditional pregnancy and baby care guides treated moms-to-be as human incubators and urged expectant mothers to be models of perfect motherhood throughout their entire pregnancies.

Safe Counsel -- a bestselling 19th century childrearing guide -- warned expectant mothers, for example, that "low spirits, violent passions, irritability, frivolity in the pregnant woman, leave indelible marks on the unborn child."

I recently had the opportunity to speak about the history of the pregnancy book at The Association for Research in Mothering's Motherlode Conference. Here are my handouts from that presentation for the die-hard history of motherhood addicts.

Doing it By The Book: The History of the Modern Pregnancy Book (1900 to 2006): My speaking notes.
History of the Modern Pregnancy Book -- Table: Describes some fun and lively examples of pregnancy books across the decades, including some deliciously awful pregnancy and baby advice.
Overheads (visual shots of pregnancy books past; a collage of images, etc.)

American Women: Gateway to Library of Congress
Canadiana.org
Canuckchicks.com
History of Private Life: Digital History
Hearth -- Home Economics Archive: Cornell University
A Woman's Place: CBC Archives
A Woman's Work is Never Done: American Antiquarian Society

From The Mother of All Blogs