Nurse and Jewish mother

Lewis Wickes Hine, 1874–1940

“A Visiting nurse showing Jewish mother how to care for the baby, East Side, New York – 1925”

New York, 1925

In the early 20th century, numerous immigrant welfare organizations in New York City, including the prominent Educational Alliance on the Lower East Side, played a crucial role in providing services to the newcomers. These ranged from vocational training to language instruction to healthcare, all to help the immigrants adjust to their new country. Nursing classes were available to young mothers, who were strongly encouraged to take them. The classes showed the women how best to care for their babies and helped them to embrace the new, progressive American health and hygiene practices.

In this captivating photo-study from 1925 by Lewis Wickes Hine, we witness a revealing moment of interaction between two young women, a visiting nurse and a mother, both lovingly attending to a baby in one of the Lower East Side tenement apartments. Despite their proximity in age, they seem to belong to two different generations and even worlds, although they may be speaking Yiddish to each other. The younger woman, a nurse, most likely an immigrant herself, seems to be a well-established professional with more American experience. She shows the other woman, most likely a more recent immigrant, how to care for the child. The mother is observing the process with tender attention, but with a hint of hesitation on her face.