From hygienism to scientific philanthropy:

infant mortality and the creation of IPAI CE (1913).

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-6644.20260008

Abstract

This study analyzes how the medical-hygienist discourse in Brazil (late 19th–early 20th centuries) redefined infant death and legitimized medical-philanthropic intervention in Ceará, culminating in the creation of the IPAI-CE in 1913. Based on theses, reports, and periodicals, it highlights the medicalization of childhood, the framing of infant mortality as a public issue, and the institutionalization of puericulture and sanitary education. Despite medical controversies, there was convergence around preventive care. The IPAI-CE adapted the IPAI-RJ model, expanding services and integrating poor childhood into the republican modernization project.

Author Biography

  • Érica Cavalcante Lima (UFC), Federal University of Ceará

    Doctor of Education from the Federal University of Ceará (PPGE/UFC), member of the Research Group on the History of Health and Illness Practices, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Ana Karine Garcia and Prof. Dr. Elane Cristina Gomes. Master's degree in Public Policy and Higher Education Management from the Federal University of Ceará (POLEDUC/UFC). Bachelor's degree in History from the State University of Ceará (UECE). Author of the books "AIDS Becomes News: Discourses on the 'New Disease' in Ceará Newspapers of the 1980s" and "Sexual Harassment: Beyond Workplace Violence, Gender Violence. The Perception of Progep/UFC Employees." She is a civil servant at the Federal University of Ceará, in the Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion of the Vice-Rectorate for Human Resources Management. In the field of research, she has experience in the following topics: History of Health and Diseases, History of AIDS, infant mortality in Ceará, disadvantaged children and women in the world of work.

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Published

2026-06-26

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026): História das infâncias e juventudes na América Latina: experiências, discursos e políticas sociais

Section

Dossiê | Special Issue | Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 TEL Tempo, Espaço e Linguagem

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How to Cite

From hygienism to scientific philanthropy:: infant mortality and the creation of IPAI CE (1913). (2026). TEL Tempo, Espaço E Linguagem, 17(1), 325-340. https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-6644.20260008