Saving newborns, defining livebirth: The struggle to reduce infant mortality in East-Central Europe in comparative and transnational perspectives, 1945–1965

0576397 - HÚ 2024 RIV GB eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Lišková, Kateřina - Jarska, Natalia - Gagyiova, Annina - Aguilar López-Barajas, José Luis - Rábová, Š. C.
Saving newborns, defining livebirth: The struggle to reduce infant mortality in East-Central Europe in comparative and transnational perspectives, 1945–1965.
History of Science. neuveden, September 12, 2023 (2023). ISSN 0073-2753. E-ISSN 1753-8564
Grant CEP: GA ČR(CZ) GX21-28766X
Klíčová slova: Medical history * Eastern Europe * state socialism * transnational history * infant mortality
Obor OECD: History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)
Impakt faktor: 0.5, rok: 2022
Způsob publikování: Open access
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00732753231187486

After World War II, infant mortality rates started dropping steeply. We show how this was accomplished in socialist countries in East-Central Europe. Focusing on the two postwar decades, we explore comparatively how medical experts in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany saved fragile newborns. Based on an analysis of medical journals, we argue that the Soviet Union and its medical practices had only a marginal influence, the four countries followed the recommendations of the World Health Organization instead, despite not being members. Importantly, we analyze the expert clashes over definitions of livebirth, which impact infant mortality statistics. We analyze the divergent practices and negotiations between countries: since the infant mortality rate came to represent the level of socioeconomic advancement, its political significance was paramount. Analyzing the struggle to reduce infant mortality thus helps us understand how socialist countries positioned themselves within the transnational framework while being members of the „socialist bloc.“
Trvalý link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0346185