Description:
The 19th century, which is described with different expressions such as the longest century, is the period of contemporary European center-oriented changes in every field in the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the century, children are the smallest members of the society at the center of change. The capital city of Istanbul, the center of religious and cultural diversity, is the beginning of the place where birth, nutrition and care stages are felt by blending tradition and innovation in their lives. The aim of the study is to examine the nutrition and care plan of the 0-2 age group, which undoubtedly constitutes the majority of child deaths in Ottoman Istanbul, as in its contemporary states. Especially Besim Ömer's baby care guides, written by specialist physicians in the field, are the main sources of the research. Again, mostly women's and children's magazines and newspapers, and memoirs, where the changes and reflections of the period are followed closely, have been used appropriately. It is an interesting detail in terms of affecting both genders that women writers mostly convey their knowledge and experience about contemporary baby care methods in these sources. In this context, it is a matter of curiosity how much of breast milk-based feeding, sterilized animal milk, modern nutritional care equipment and baby care methods were applied in Ottoman homes. It is quite remarkable that the Ottoman Empire, which had extremely intense and tired years due to wars and their results, on the other hand, tried to develop baby care methods in order to bring healthy newborns to the world and increase the quality of life, benefiting from the blessings of contemporary medicine.