Abstract
Introduction: During the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, infant mortality in Chile was one of the highest in the world. It was common that in poor spheres, children grew in orphan hood, abandonment, and vagrancy. Shelter and welfare institutions, which were supported by the religious and aristocratic philanthropy, had poor life expectancy indicators. Infancy rights were just appearing in the world. After the large epidemics at the end of 1900, the medical corps was sensitized and fomented promotion and primary prevention activities, which went beyond the pure biomedical scope, breaking the existent paradigms. From the second half of the century, life conditions, sanitation, and educational levels improved a lot. When the National Health Service was created, the medical care was organized and public policies with broad coverage were generated, which took us to health standards that were equivalent to those of developed countries.
Aim: Travel through the history of infancy in our country and comment the effort of some infancy welfare works of large impact in mother and child health, such as Casa Nacional del Niño, Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, and Seguro Obrero Obligatorio. From here on, we consider the present and future challenges that are present in pediatrics.
Conclusions: Chile has been through a fast epidemiologic and demographic transition, which has brought new challenges in the child health sphere, related with life styles, development and mental health. Accordingly, we, pediatricians, should broaden the welfare point of view, incorporating the development approach and the psychosocial and emotional dimensions in the children's care. Following our social pediatrics heritage, we should continue fighting for the equity of opportunities and for the actual fulfillment of the children's rights.
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