In her book
Rights of Infants, author Margaret Ribble in 1943 described infant
marasmus (an infant wasting disease) and the seemingly peculiar difference in outcome between better-class Edwardian infants and those born in poverty-stricken slums. Per her account, half of the babies in Britain at the time suffered from the disease.
"...babies in the best homes and hospitals, given the most careful attention, often drifted into this condition of slow dying, while infants in the poorest homes, with a good mother, often overcame the handicaps of poverty and unhygienic surroundings and became bouncing babies. It was found that the element lacking in the sterilized lives of the former class...was mother love."
(Rights of Infants)
Ok, this might be weird, but this quote makes me sick inside... not necessarily the quote, but the idea that little babies were wasting away without their mommy's love... gah, so sad. :(
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