Advice to expectant mothers on healthy practices during pregnancy and at the birth
Colour lithograph, USSR, 1925
Published in Leningrad in 1925, this poster gives advice on
healthy practices during pregnancy and birth comparing modern,
medical practises with older, more traditional ones. In the scene
at top left, a male doctor gives advice to a pregnant woman in his
surgery, deprecating the village woman-healer ("babka") and
praising the professional midwife ("akusherka"). In the top right
scene, the text warns against carrying heavy loads during
pregnancy. The bottom left scene shows a birth room with unhygienic
practices, with the text warning "when the woman is pregnant she
should not go the babka: often she ends in heavy pain, even the
death of the mother and the baby." In the scene at bottom right is
a birth room with hygienic practices. The text proclaims:
"Knowledge and hygiene leads to health. The trained midwife knows
how to visit the mother and child correctly. Call the midwife."