New York Nursery and Child's Hospital facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New York Nursery and Child's Hospital
Main building at 61st Street and Amsterdam Avenue, circa 1924.
Geography
Location	New York City, United States
History
Closed	1934

The New York Nursery and Child's Hospital was a special hospital in New York City. It helped pregnant women and cared for babies and young children. It was started on May 2, 1854, by two amazing women, Mary Ann Delafield DuBois and Ana R. Emmit.

At first, the hospital was a home for abandoned babies. It also helped working mothers and their children. It was one of the first places to focus on treating very young babies, especially those under two years old.

A Hospital for Kids and Moms

How It All Started

Before the New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, there was another important place called the Marion Street Maternity Hospital. It began in 1823. This hospital helped married women who needed a safe place to give birth. It also sent doctors to help women at their homes.

In 1854, Mary Ann Delafield DuBois and Ana R. Emmit opened "The Nursery for the Children of Poor Women." This nursery cared for the children of wet nurses. Wet nurses were women who breastfed other people's babies for work. The nursery made sure their own children were looked after.

Later, the nursery started helping more people. Its name changed to the Nursery and Child's Hospital. Mary Ann Delafield DuBois was a leader there for over 30 years.

Growing Bigger and Helping More

Over time, different hospitals joined together to help more people. In 1899, the New York Infant Asylum combined with the Marion Street Maternity Hospital. Then, in 1910, these two joined with the Nursery and Child's Hospital. This created the larger New York Nursery and Child's Hospital.

This new, bigger hospital offered many services. It was a place for:

• Women to give birth safely.
• Sick children to get medical care.
• Babies who needed homes. The hospital found good families for them and checked on them often.
• Doctors to visit homes and help pregnant women there.
• Training young women to become skilled nursery maids. These trained women could then find jobs helping families care for children.

• 

  Table from the hospital's Annual Report (1910) showing cost per day to feed its staff.

The Hospital's Later Years

In the 1930s, the hospital faced money problems. On November 21, 1934, it became part of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Many of its special services for babies and children were stopped. Other hospitals in New York City took over these important jobs. The hospital's program for finding foster homes for children became the New York Child's Foster Home Service.