Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 202-205. (Budapest, 2008)

TANULMÁNYOK — ARTICLES - VARGA, Gabriella: A comparative study of the social-political determinants of infant and child mortality in Sweden and Hungary 1850-1945. - Összehasonlító tanulmány a svéd és a magyar csecsemőhalandóság szociálpolitikai tényezőiről 1850 és 1945 között

villages without educated midwives in 1893 (Deáky, 2005). We can also find that in 1 890, 27-50 midwives practiced for every 100.000 inhabitants (M. Si. Evk, 1893). A complementary education for health-care workers was introduced by the Hungarian Red Cross, which was founded in 1881 when it started the education of professional and volunteer nurses. In 1901 they opened a "School for Mothers" and in 1912 a countrywide midwife/district nurse network, called Stefánia Federation, was formed, responsible for mother and child-care and education (Kapronczay, 2001). Melly (1928) found that the IMR lower than 170 where this federation existed, compared with IMR 200 where it did not exist. Similarly in a Hungarian study the significance of the midwives intervention at the end of the 19"' century was also discussed. According to Kapronczay (2001) 20% of the IMR in Hungary, when the child died during or immediately after birth, were caused by unfavorable delivery conditions and were not attended by a midwife. Summing up, the need for good educated midwives attending the birth of infants were known in both Sweden and Hungary and education of them began in both countries with continuous improvements since in the 18' century. Sweden however was a pioneer both in time and quality. General education Literacy and education are very different between Sweden and Hungary. In Sweden the literacy rate was 90% at the beginning of the 19

lh century (Johansson quoted by Högherg, 1983). Burström, Bernhardt (2001) also write that the literacy in Stockholm was nearly universal at the end of the 19

th century, while in Hungary average literacy rate was 37% in 1869, it increased to 43% in 1880 and reached only 48% in 1890. (pop. over 6 years) (M St. Évk, 1893) The Swedish Protestant Church had campaigns to improve literacy in all its parishes. There were organised interrogations at the peasants home, the so-called catechetical examination performed by clergymen to check the literacy and the biblical knowledge of a households' members (Bengtsson and Lundh 1999, Sundin 1995, Högberg, 1983). According to Andersson et al. (2000) marriages were allowed only with approved certificate of reading ability. Also the year when primary school became compulsory differed in the two countries. Thus, in Sweden it was dated earlier, in 1842, while in Hungary the year 1868 is recorded. In Hungary school attendance varied by nationalities. The countrys heterogeneity can be demonstrated in percentage of school-age children (those who should go to school) which were 49% Hungarian, 16% Romanian, 14% German, 14%> Slovakian, 3% Ukrainian, 2% Croatian, 3% Serbs (the numbers are rounded up) the average of the period between 188690 (M. St. Evk., 1893). Though there were differences in school attendance and literacy level among nationality groups. Thus, in the same period between 1882-92 was almost stabile 84%-86% among Hungarian population, among Germans it increased from 86% to 95% and among Romanians this rose from 54% to 57% (M. St. Évk, 1893). Statistics for 1874 show a variation by counties from 33%> to 92% with an average of 70%. Average illiteracy rate varied between 22%/29% boys/girls on the right bank region of the Danube and 60/70 in Transylvania. (M. St. Évk, 1893) Weszelovszky (1882) considered that higher education and culture had an influence on the IMR only if the population could follow reasonable nutrition patterns.