| Prior to the 20 th century,infant mortality in Britain was high,and the problem was closely related to the lack of infant welfare.After the 20 th century,the British infant welfare system was gradually improved until the establishment of the infant welfare system after the Second World War.It is easy to find that the three wars that Britain experienced in the first half of the 20 th century contributed to the establishment of the infant welfare system.In the second half of the 19 th century,Britain faced the challenges of the rise of Germany and the United States,which increased the pressure on Britain.The outbreak of the Second Boer War intensified the tragic atmosphere in Britain,and the loss of the Boer War also aroused public concern about the physical quality of British soldiers and the health of newborn babies in the country,which led to the awakening of public awareness of the establishment of an infant welfare system,a concern that was also expressed in the British medical journals,which had always been known for their rigor.In response,the British government set up the Interdepartmental Committee on Institutional Deterioration,which was established to improve the health of infants and children in order to prepare the next generation of soldiers and workers,thus starting the infant welfare movement.The Second Boer War led to the infant welfare movement,which involved mainly individuals and civil society organizations,with some involvement by local governments,but the government became involved in the infant welfare movement on a large scale after the outbreak of World War I.With the outbreak of World War I and the increasing death toll of the war,Britain recognized the need to maintain a sufficient population to ensure post-war reconstruction.The British government took measures to provide subsidies for military dependents and their children,and to implement the National Infant Week program,of which the greatest legacy of Infant Week was the opening of the infant welfare system.In addition,the British government also hired many prominent figures in the field of public health to establish mother and child training centers,following the New Zealand model.As society progressed,the infant and child mortality rate declined,as did the birth rate,and the eventual establishment of the infant and child welfare system was directly related to World War II.After the outbreak of World War II,the government was desperate to reverse the decline in newborn births and take measures to raise the fertility rate in the face of Britain’s unfavorable war situation in the early stages of World War II.To this end,a wartime food rationing system was established with a clear preference for infants and young children to ensure that infants and pregnant mothers received the necessary nutritional supplies during the war period when supplies were scarce.Thereafter,along with the Beveridge Report of 1942,a comprehensive welfare state system was established in Britain,facilitating the eventual establishment of an infant welfare system.By examining the relationship between the three wars and the construction of the British infant welfare system,it is easy to see that each war triggered a series of problems with infant and child birth in Britain,and the government’s initiatives to solve the problems may not have included much humanistic concern during the war,but they triggered the rise of the infant welfare movement and the continuous improvement of the infant welfare system,prompting the British government to establish an infant welfare system supported by laws.The British government established an infant welfare system backed by law. |
