Nurses holding babies

Category

Library Item

Item no

32410

Title

Nurses holding babies at Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital

Description

Mary Cunningham is standing third from the left looking down at the baby she is holding.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1914

Size

9.3 x 7cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Edinburgh opened a General Lying in Hospital in 1793 at Park House which was the forerunner of the 1879 Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Maternity Hospital. Developments from this were an ante-natal clinic (1915), a post natal clinic (1926) at which time it became part of the Royal Infirmary. The Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion opened in 1939 and was managed by the Royal Infirmary. In 1994 it became part of the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh NHS Trust before being reorganised into the Lothian University Hospital NHS Trust. The Maternity Hospital is now located at the new ERI in Little France.

This image comes from a photograph album donated to Edinburgh Libraries covering the nursing career of Miss Mary Morag Bird Cunningham. Mary was born in 1888 and at the age of 22 began training at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (RIE) as a nurse. Once qualified in 1915 she moved to the Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital (ERMH) and obviously found her calling in the care of children. In 1917 she became one of Edinburgh's first health visitors as part of the introduction of Edinburgh's Child Welfare Scheme. The album contains early photographs of the RIE and ERMH as well as images of child health care clinics that she worked in during the 1930s at Portobello and Prestonfield.

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Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Garments > Uniforms

Healthcare and welfare > Healthcare and welfare facilities > Hospitals

People > Children > Babies

People > Health and safety > Nurses

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh