Children's hospital

A children's hospital is a type of hospital. It is generally for people under the age of 18. Some children's hospitals also do maternity and childbirth.

Before the 19th century there were no children's hospitals as we now know them. Sick children were looked after by their mothers. There were orphanages, and foundling hospitals for children with no mothers. The Foundling Hospital, set up in London in 1739, is one of the most well known.^[1] Dispensaries, funded by donations were opened to provide medicine and medical attention to families who could not afford private care.

Children's hospitals were started in the 19th century. They were mostly quite small. They did not usually care for babies. They were mostly funded by donations. In the 20th century doctors and nurses began to specialize in the care of children. The death rate of children improved. The Hôpital des Enfants Malades was the first in Europe, started in 1801.^[2] Great Ormond Street Hospital was the first in Britain, started in 1852.^[3]

Until the 1970s most children's hospitals restricted adult visitors.^[4]

1. ↑ "The Coram story | Coram". www.coram.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-22.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. ↑ Ballbriga, Angel (1991). "'One century of pediatrics in Europe (section: development of pediatric hospitals in Europe)'". In Nichols, Burford L.; et al. (eds.). History of Paediatrics 1850–1950. Nestlé Nutrition Workshop Series. Vol. 22. New York, NY: Raven Press. pp. 6–8. ISBN 0-88167-695-0.
3. ↑ "Our history". GOSH Charity. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
4. ↑ Abel-Smith, Brian (1978). National Health Service The first thirty years. London: HMSO. ISBN 0113202490.