Happy Mother's Day to all the women who have worked to keep us both healthy and clean!
These photos are from Arlington Health Department hygiene classes, which were offered for new and expectant mothers in the 1930s and 1940s.
Home hygiene clinic, 1938
Baby bath demonstration, 1943
During this time period, health and cleanliness were considered one and the same, so personal hygiene was seen as essential to being healthy.
The classes for new mothers covered maternity hygiene, infant hygiene, and preschool hygiene. Among other things, nurses demonstrated the best way to wash a toddler and a baby.
To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.
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