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The Mountain Maternal Health League (MMHL) was established in 1936 to provide contraception to women living in rural Appalachian Kentucky. ==League Formation and Early History== In the Spring of 1936, an agent working for Clarence Gamble met with social workers and activists from Berea, KY at the Conference of Southern Mountain Workers. Gamble had funded birth control projects through the United States in an effort to discover the effectiveness rate of inexpensive contraceptive methods among rural populations. Activists in Berea decided to form a league with funding from Gamble. Using Gamble’s work in Logan, West Virginia as a model, Gamble agreed to provide a vehicle, a salary for a nurse, and contraceptive supplies for the league to operate. The league was initially called the Kentucky Maternal Health League and they hired Lena Gilliam as their first nurse. Lena Gilliam was from Rockcastle County, Kentucky and league members felt that her familiarity with rural populations would aid in approaching patients and communicating contraceptive information. During the 1930s, a number of clinics has opened across the United States as national organizations such as the American Birth Control League and Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau as well as activists like Margaret Sanger promoted the expansion of birth control services. Since the service area around Berea was rural and isolated, the Kentucky Maternal Health League decided against using a typical clinic-based operation. Using the Gamble-financed vehicle, Gilliam would travel to clients in rural areas and visit them in their homes. Gilliam would visit the homes and conduct interviews and evaluations with potential clients. If they were interested in contraceptives, Gilliam would answer questions regarding the contraceptive jelly and nozzles she would distribute. Because Gamble wanted to test low-cost contraceptives and their effectiveness in rural populations, the diaphragm was deemed too expensive to distribute. In addition, diaphragms had to be fitted and required frequent follow up visits - a difficult task for rural women due to transportation difficulties. Kentucky Maternal Health clients paid for the supplies if able and additional supplies were sent to a central location where they could pick them up. During this time, the league distributed contraceptive supplies to Appalachian doctors for distribution among their patients and they began coordinating clinic locations in Harlan, KY and Sevierville, TN. In 1938, satisfied with the results of his study, Gamble began to withdraw his funding. Final results of his tests showed the contraceptive jelly method to be 85% effective. Also in 1938, Lena Gilliam married and left her work with the league. These events would lead to changes within the league which had changed its name to the Mountain Maternal Health League in 1937. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mountain Maternal Health League」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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