Pre-Natal Care Health Poster, 1940s

(From: State Board of Health, Bureau of Health Education, Printed Matter, ca. 1940-1949, Series S908)

These posters are among the printed materials on public health issues disseminated by the State Board of Health in the 1940s. The brochures, flyers, and posters in these series often incorporated patriotism and other war-time themes and cover many subject areas including maternal health, tuberculosis, and immunization. Artists employed by the Work Projects Administration designed some of the posters.

The 1885 Constitution provided for a State Board of Health, but the Board was not established until 1889 when yellow fever reached epidemic proportions. The Board was empowered to investigate and prevent yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera and to impose coastal and city quarantines. The Board studied health problems, administered health services programs, disseminated health information, and enforced rules concerning sanitation and communicable diseases. It also controlled the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the bacteriological laboratories, the veterinary department with a State Veterinarian, and tuberculosis sanitariums. The Board became the Division of Health under the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services in 1969 and became a separate Department of Health in 1996.