175:. On 10 September 1898 she graduated from a technical course on the use of equipment to facilitate births and decided to open a private maternity clinic in Porvoo which offered safe and hygienic conditions for expectant mothers. Her facility offered five beds, and received a city subsidy for providing services to the women of the community. It was the first maternity hospital in Porvoo. Quickly she outgrew the facility and began planning a larger maternal home, which opened in 1902. The new facility had twelve beds and the city subsidy was increased accordingly. In addition to a safe birthing environment, mothers were given instruction on childcare and hygiene. Each mother who left the facility received information on formula for increasing baby-birth weights and sterilized bottles. In spite of the help she was able to give, Forsius felt that inadequate help was given, as there was not enough time in a
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up to six months after their child's birth so that they could receive education and training to provide for their family welfare during their stay and follow-up visits for up to three years after the child's birth to offer additional assistance. She purchased a lot and built a large building which had four bedrooms, a parlor, a children's playroom, a dining room, office, kitchen and three balconies. Though she solicited donations, she was unable to furnish the structure and negotiated with the
Salvation Army to run the home. She named the facility "Solhem" and it opened in 1914 at the beginning of
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counseling for new mothers. Recognizing the needs of unwed mothers, she established one of the first homes to offer single mothers training and follow-up care so that they were able to provide for both the health and economic welfare of their families. Raising three foster daughters, as a single parent, she dedicated her time to helping mothers and children. In later life, she established a private retirement home for women.
164:, who recruited Forsius, Hedvig von Haartman, and Constantin Boije af Gennäs and his wife to help her organize a Finnish branch in late 1888. The group left in April 1889 to travel to England and study to become rescue officers and returned after a six-month training period. Forsius spent a decade in the service and trained as a midwife before she resigned from the organization to focus on
199:(In coming days, some simple advice for future mothers) as a guide for expectant mothers in 1899. It was reprinted in 1900 and 1901 with variations in the title, and was a detailed and practical guide giving information on abortion, breast care, childbirth, exercise, illness, miscarriage, nutrition, and sanitation. In 1922, she published a volume of poetry,
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In 1910, Forsius put the maternity hospital up for sale, but it was two years before a buyer was actually found. In the meantime, she began work on developing an unwed mother's home. Her plan called for expectant mothers to receive nutritional help before the birth and then remain at the facility for
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Forsius died on 14 July 1935 in Porvoo, Finland and was buried in the Näsin
Cemetery. In 2013, the Alva Forsius Memorial Association was founded to preserve her memory and foster scholarship on her work. In 2016, the City of Porvoo held multiple events in honor of the 150th Anniversary of her birth.
203:(Foster children) dedicated to her children. Both the Finnish and Swedish language versions quickly sold out and it was reprinted the following year. Two years later, in 1924, her first daughter, Anna, who had trained as a nurse, died. She published many articles on childbirth and an annual report
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and social worker. One of the founding members of the
Finnish Salvation Army, she became aware of the effects of poverty and unsanitary conditions for new mothers. She established the first maternity home in Porvoo, published materials to educate women on childbirth and sanitation, and provided
214:(Sophisticated Aging Women's Home) as there were very few private retirement homes in Finland. Some existed to care for those who were too poor to maintain themselves, but there were no facilities for those who could care for themselves but were unable to live totally independently in Porvoo.
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As part of those festivities, a statue in her honor was erected in Porvoo in 2016. "Solhemi", the home she established for unwed mothers, was turned into a kindergarten in 1957 and is one of the three surviving farms which had been operated by the
Salvation Army in the country.
192:, as one of the first facilities of its kind in the country. Mothers were charged a small fee, but most could not pay and were taught to make handicrafts and sell them to cover the costs. They grew their own food and shared communally in the chores to keep the home running.
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Forsius began her career at the Porvoo Women's Crafts School, teaching sewing machine use. She moved to
Helsinki and grew concerned about the poverty in her neighborhood. Having a strong desire to help others, she became a pioneer in establishing the Finnish
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who were rejected by society. She also took in three of the children born at her facility, Anna Sofia (1900–1924), Marta
Bernhardine (1905–?) and Eva Elisabet (1912–2014). She took in Anna as a foster child, but legally adopted Marta and Eva in 1929.
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to Hulda Aurora Hollmérus and Johan
Wilhelm Forsius. She was the second child in a family of twelve children. She attended the Porvoo Girls' School, completing her certificate in 1884 and then entered a two-year course in
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On 17 April 1895, Forsius had graduated as a midwife from the
Helsinki Obstetrics Hospital and began working throughout the countryside surrounding
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207:(Childbirth statistics in Porvoo), which gave the numbers of patients treated, length of treatment, illnesses and number of babies born.
596:[The daughter of the manor grew into a helper-Alva Forsius' heart beat for society's rejected] (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland:
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Over the next several years, Forsius focused on raising her daughters and continued publishing. She had published her first work,
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594:"Kartanontyttärestä kasvoi äpärälasten auttaja–Alva Forsiuksen sydän sykki yhteiskunnan hylkiöille"
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at the
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facility for sufficient counseling or training, and she was moved by the plight of
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657:(in Finnish). Porvoo, Finland: City of Porvoo. 29 January 2016. Archived from
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536:[Alva Forsius (1866–1935)-social worker, midwife, women's advocate].
534:"Alva Forsius (1866–1935) – sosiaalinen auttaja, kätilö, naisasian edistäjä"
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577:(2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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In 1925, Forsius founded a facility to care for aging women called
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653:[Alva Forsius 150th Anniversary Year in Porvoo, 2016].
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626:(Bachelor of Health Care) (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland:
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I väntade dagar, några enkla råd för blifvande mödrar
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651:"Alva Forsius 150-vuotisjuhlavuosi Porvoossa 2016"
628:Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
130:Alva Forsius was born on 24 May 1866 on a farm in
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620:Midwife Alva Forsius–An Electronic Catalogue
540:(in Finnish). Lahti, Finland. Archived from
574:Historical Dictionary of The Salvation Army
571:Merritt, John G.; Satterlee, Allen (2017).
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512:[Woman without comparison].
514:Uusimaa-lehdessä (Uusimaa magazine)
114:(24 May 1866 – 14 July 1935) was a
612:Vuorenniemi, Paula (10 May 2015).
212:sivistyneiden naisten vanhainkotia
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508:Forsblom, Eila (28 July 2012).
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592:Pukkila, Outi (24 May 2016).
32:Salvation Army portrait, 1890
538:Saunalahti Finland, Arnoldus
326:Merritt & Satterlee 2017
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562:: CS1 maint: postscript (
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205:Barnbörd shuset i Borgå
510:"Nainen vailla vertaa"
136:Grand Duchy of Finland
97:midwife, social worker
56:Grand Duchy of Finland
132:Porvoon maalaiskunta
52:Porvoon maalaiskunta
637:on 1 September 2017
492:City of Porvoo 2016
162:Louise af Forselles
705:People from Porvoo
584:978-1-5381-0213-8
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112:Alva Forsius
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72:(1935-07-14)
70:14 July 1935
20:Alva Forsius
690:1935 deaths
685:1866 births
190:World War I
145:handicrafts
86:Nationality
48:24 May 1866
679:Categories
227:References
166:obstetrics
126:Early life
44:1866-05-24
665:7 October
641:7 October
603:7 October
548:7 October
520:7 October
232:Citations
168:in 1898.
105:1889–1929
80:, Finland
558:cite web
177:lying-in
138:of the
119:midwife
116:Finnish
89:Finnish
622:]
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173:Porvoo
151:Career
78:Porvoo
635:(PDF)
624:(PDF)
618:[
667:2017
643:2017
605:2017
579:ISBN
564:link
550:2017
522:2017
67:Died
38:Born
598:Yle
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