Mid 20th Century – Interpretations

Progress is being made! (really?)

Hear the story

The 20th century was a period of great change throughout Britain with changes happening in politics, rights, and medicine. Post-World War Two, women in particular were impacted by the new beliefs, inventions, and practices that were introduced into the medical world, and had far-reaching, both positive and negative impacts on their physical and mental health.

Changes to women’s health were made through diagnostic methods and practices, how women were treated, and understanding of the female body as a whole. One of the biggest changes during this time was the introduction of various types of contraception, with the pill becoming a popular method of contraception.

However, access to these were extremely hard to come by. Few women met the criteria to be given contraception, i.e. having already had children, being married, or it being medically necessary. This was due to the restrictive legislation, namely the National Health Service (Family planning) Act 1967, which ensured further male control of female health.

Family planning reprints

Abortion Law Reform Association, 1968-1976, Page 2

In the male dominated field of medicine, some steps had been made throughout the 20th century in understanding and improving women’s health, mistakes and unscientific assumptions were made, casting a misogynistic light on the diagnosis and treatments of women’s health issues. This document suggests without scientific justification that some of the causes of cervical cancer in women were sex before marriage and extramarital affairs to name a few.

Audio: Thalidomide oral history. Mothers’ guilt. Publication/Creation: 2013-2012

Often through the tragedies women experience, progress can be made in the medical field, as can be seen with the Thalidomide scandal of the 1950’s and 60’s. The drug Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant mothers as a treatment for morning sickness, not knowing it potentially caused serious birth defects. This had a lasting impact on the physical and mental health of these children, and on their mothers who felt that they were to blame.

However, it also provided an opportunity for changes in medical testing, and criteria for distribution of potentially harmful medicines. Click to hear about the emotional impact Thalidomide had on one mother.

Image source:
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/vpnkbxnm
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ef3mpgxu