The Infant Welfare Movement in England

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the changing face of motherhood among London's working classes during the Victorian era and uses Ellen Ross' book, Love and Toil: Motherhood in Outcast London 1870-1918 as its source. It explores the Infant Welfare Reform movement, the Education Acts of 1906 and 1907 and the 1908 Children's Act and considers their implications on the lives of mothers.

From the Paper:

"In a parlor in a London suburb Hampstead maybe plump, pink-cheeked children gaze with anticipation at a roast goose, whilst their adoring mother looks down at them with obvious motherly love and affection. This rosy picture of family life was popular in Victorian Britain. However, move this little cameo some four miles to, perhaps, working-class Hackney and the scenario changes dramatically. Replace the goose with a plate of bread and dripping, hollow the children's cheeks and look hard for mother. It is likely that she is out at work but even if she were present, the love and affection in her eyes would probably be replaced with fatigue and fear for the future. The attitudes of mothers towards their children varied depending on which class "mother" belonged to. However, the working class attitude to motherhood was destined to change, slowly but significantly, due to the Infant Welfare Reform movement."

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