Infants in Italy: An evaluation of other than mother care

Abstract

As more and more women return to the work force while their children are but babies, other than mother care for infants outside their own home has become an issue of major import in this country. In Europe, however, more governments subsidize infant care for mothers who work outside the home. This paper reports on one such country, Italy. Italy has provided government sponsored infant care since 1925 and is currently in the process of remodeling the original infant care system. An overview of this delivery system was made, based on observation of 90 different infant care programs sponsored by the Italian government, ten private infant care centers and one training institution sponsored jointly by the Catholic Church and local government. These observations were made in large northern industrial cities as well as several small communities, and several large cities in central and southern Italy. Over 100 interviews included advisors, school administrators, city officials, pediatricians, psychiatrists, progr...