To aid mothers who worked outside the home, Dr.
Josephine Sara Baker formed the "Little Mother's League", which taught 12-to 16-year-old girls how to care for their infant siblings while their parents worked. Dr.
Baker also became the first woman appointed as a health official for a major US city.
Though the program's name implies these girls were being groomed for motherhood, they were receiving better public health education at the time than many medical students.
Girls who enrolled progressed through 20 lessons, including on milk preparation, disease prevention, and observing a sick baby.
They were given badges and prizes for meeting attendance. By 1915, 25,000 girls were enrolled.
Jessie Tarbox Beals, photographer
by CryptographerKey2847
1 Comment
Likely these girls were tasked with taking care of the home and their siblings anyway, just without preparation. It’s kind of a sad situation overall, but I hope some of them felt like the classes helped ease their burden, and hopefully it also reduced illness.