Women Experts: The Delhi Maternity Conference (1927)

Abstract

The Conference organised in 1927 gathered specialists on women’s health care from all over India to discuss the existent problems and to advance recommendations to improve their situation. The topics included the analysis of the organization of institutions (both State’s initiatives and volunteer ones), of the activities undertaken by the health visitors, of the characteristics of antenatal work and of the required promotion of hygiene principles, among others.

The Conference was part of a larger series of initiatives brought about to improve the health of women, which included the Baby exhibitions, the Dufferin Fund, the Chelmsford League, and the Lady Hardinge Hospital, among others. Some projects aimed at treating and educating women to become better mothers, others aimed at organizing and coordinating the work of institutions and associations, whereas others, like the Conference, were created for the specialists.

The study of the Conference allows us to understand several patterns of public health in India. First, the fact that India became a place for the development of several health professions, particularly for women. Second, the ongoing debate regarding the responsibility towards health in India. The colonial government expressed its commitment to expand western medicine as part of its civilizing mission, but at same time it was always reluctant to devote a bigger budget or to create more institutions.