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[INFANCY IN THE USSR] Mat’ i ditia [i.e. Mother and Child]

Langstein, L.

Item #2585

Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe meditsinskoe izdatatel’stvo, 1929. 124, [1] pp. + 3 pp. of ads. 20 × 14 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Spine restored, some small stains occasionally, otherwise very good.

Third edition. One of 8000 copies. Translated from German by doctor S. Ia. Aronshtam.
This early Soviet book comprises the translation of a manual on raising and nutrition of infants written by Austrian pediatrician Leopold Langstein (1876–1933). The text is occasionally enlarged by a Soviet editor – paediatrician Nikolay Altgauzen (1877–1949). He himself was the author of books on motherhood and infancy which were reprinted and translated to various languages of Soviet peoples.

Sometimes his additions are connected to Soviet climate and living conditions, sometimes they show his opinion and correct the text, so they are particularly interesting. One text is devoted to complementary feeding. Leopold Langstein writes: “You shouldn’t give eggs to a child under one year old, as they are useless and often bad for babies’ digestion.” Altgauzen adds: “According to a doctor’s prescription, you sometimes may give egg yolk to a child at the age of several months.” to an original sentence warning about general good health of a wet nurse, Altgauzen adds “Be sure that the wet nurse doesn’t suffer from tuberculosis, syphilis and gonorrhoea. He also mentions “In the USSR, the job of a wet nurse is regulated by a law; a wet nurse enters into a contract with her employer”.
A small review of the Soviet system for the Protection of Motherhood and Childhood by Abram Gens is printed at the end of the book. He is known for books on summer nurseries and recommendations against abortions.
An index is organized for the manual and placed after the review.

Worldcat tracks the only copy located in the National Library of Medicine.

Price: $950.00

Status: On Hold