BONGĀH-E ḤEMĀYAT-E MĀDARĀN O KŪDAKĀN (Institute for the protection of mothers and infants), founded 25 Āḏar 1319 Š./16 December 1940 on the order of Reżā Shah, originally funded by charitable contributions. During World War II the institute distributed clothing and hot meals among the poor. In 1320 Š./1941 it commissioned a maternity hospital with twenty beds and a number of clinics. In 1321 Š./1942 Moḥammad-Reżā Shah donated funds to the institute and granted it space in one of the royal buildings on Pasteur Street. Later another maternity hospital with fifty beds was opened, as well as a nursing home and two clinics in different parts of the city. In 1322 Š./1943 the shah donated a further 10 million rials to the institute to pay for more suitable premises. Eventually, in 1338 Š./1959, thanks to donations from the shah and the public, a 400-bed hospital was opened in Mawlawī Street off Amīn-al-Solṭān Square. The institute also opened a branch with a mobile maternity unit in Rašt. In 1336 Š./1957 a two-year college of nursing (Āmūzešgāh-e Behyārī) admitting a total of eighty students had also been established. The crown prince, Reżā Pahlavī, was born in the Mawlawī Street hospital in Āḏar, 1339 Š./December, 1960, after which it was renamed Zāyešgāh-e Faraḥ (Faraḥ maternity hospital). In 1341 Š./1962, 36,109 patients were admitted to the hospital, and 21,865 babies were born there; according to available statistics, one of every ten babies born in Tehran in 1350 Š./1971 was born in Faraḥ Maternity Hospital (now Šahīd Akbarābādī Hospital). The institute was administered by a board of directors and had an annual budget of about 50 million rials (ca. $700,000) in 1342 Š./1963; these funds came from contributions from the municipality, a tax on petroleum, and a share in the national lottery (Īrānšahr, Tehran, 1342 Š./1963, p. 1447).
(EIr)
Originally Published: December 15, 1989
Last Updated: December 15, 1989
This article is available in print.
Vol. IV, Fasc. 4, pp. 350-351
