Perfect motherhood : science and childrearing in America /
Rima D. Apple.
- New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2006.
- xii, 209 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-194) and index.
Redefining motherhood -- "Follow the lead of physicians": Motherhood in the late nineteenth century -- "Mamma's scientific--she knows all the laws": Motherhood in the early twentieth century -- "Follow my instructions exactly": Experts to mothers in the interwar period and during World War II -- "The modern way": Mothers, circa 1920-1945 -- "Now I know that an authority has the same opinion as mine": Motherhood in the postwar period -- "Use it to guide, not to dictate": Motherhood in the late twentieth century -- Conclusion: "I wanted to do it right".