The Milk Banks of New York
Milk banks, a successor concept to wet nursing, are a little discussed part of the contemporary landscape of infant care.
Medicalizing Domestic Violence
What happens when experts position domestic violence inside a biomedical model of care?
The Birth of the Modern American Military Hospital
The founding of Walter Reed General Hospital at the beginning of the twentieth century marked a shift in medical care for military personnel and veterans.
Can Religion Be Helpful for People With Chronic Pain?
A group of researchers asked this question of a group of patients in secularized Western Europe.
Neurasthenia, Vietnamese Style
To self-diagnose with neurasthenia was to identify with modernity and civilization while also recognizing the harms caused by colonial structures.
Home Pregnancy Tests
Before the arrival of home pregnancy tests, women had to seek answers at the doctor’s office, which was costly, inconvenient, and potentially embarrassing.
To Get Help for Sick Kids, Mothers Wrote to Washington
In the 1930s, mothers wrote to the US president and the federal Children’s Bureau asking for support for their sick children. They rarely received help.
The Pitfalls of the Pursuit of Happiness
The pursuit of happiness is often considered an ideal, but it may be possible to have too much—or the wrong kind—of a good thing.
“Zombie” Anthony Comstock Walks Among US (Again)
Or, how a moribund act of legislation continues to shape the fight for reproductive rights in the United States.