Elizabeth Macfarlane Chesser (née Sloan; 18 May 1877 – 16 February 1940) was a British physician and medical journalist, writing and lecturing especially on
women's health
Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...
.
Early life and education
Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, the daughter of Elizabeth Macfarlane and Samuel Sloan. Her father was a physician. She attended Queen Margaret College, Glasgow, where she was awarded an MB and ChB in 1901. In 1919 she obtained her medical degree from Glasgow with a thesis titled "Breast-Feeding: Faradisation of the Mammary Glands".
Career
Chesser became a noted medical journalist, for almost twenty years a regular contributor to the ''
Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
''. By 1914 she had published numerous articles and books on the topic of motherhood, sex education, and childrearing. In 1914 Chesser returned to full-time medical practice, acquiring an address in
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.Woolwich arsenal and the
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...
hostels for munitions workers, and working at the
Carshalton
Carshalton ( ) is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated around southwest of Charing Cross and around east by north of Sutton town centre, in the valley of the Rive ...
maternity and child welfare centre. Chesser also became temporary assistant physician at the Queen's Hospital for Children.
Chesser championed the importance of female education, suffrage and employment; she also supported
eugenic
Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the ferti ...
policies, and considered
pauperism
Pauperism (; ) is the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the Irish poor laws, Irish and English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally the state of being supported at public expense, withi ...
a personal moral failing. She coined the phrase "suburban neurosis" for the health issues associated with the middle-class housewife of the 1930s. "Her publications and public utterances gave rise to much controversy," explained ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in a 1940 obituary, "but by her vision and foresight she did much to bring the latest teachings of medical science into the homes of the people."
Selected publications
* ''Perfect Health for Women and Children'' (1913)
* ''From Girlhood to Womanhood'' (1913)
* ''My Baby in Sickness and Health'' (1913)
* ''Woman, Marriage and Motherhood'' (1913)
*''Physiology and Hygiene for Girls' Schools and Colleges'' (1914)
* ''Health and Psychology of the Child'' (1925)
* ''Child Health and Character'' (1927)
* ''Youth: A Book for Two Generations'' (1928)
* ''The Woman Who Knows Herself'' (1929)
* ''Seven Stages of Childhood'' (1937)
* ''Five Phases of Love'' (1939)
Personal life
Elizabeth Sloan married Stennett Chesser in 1902. They had two sons, Stennett Sloan Chesser and Samuel John Chesser, both of whom became doctors and served with the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace.
On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Elizabeth Sloan Chesser died in 1940, at her home in London, aged 62 years.