The exhibition that put mother and child on the agenda

The Maternity Home Exhibition (Barselhjemutstillingen) opened in Kristiania (Oslo) in 1916. Its starting point was that the mother’s role, women’s health, and infant care were public affairs, not something that only belonged in private.

According to the exhibition’s initiators, women ought to be paid for the important work of giving birth and raising children. The exhibition influenced the political agenda and toured all over the country. It contributed to the construction of more modern maternity wards and maternity homes.