[Prevention rather than cure: the emergence and first stage of the Centros de Higiene Infantil in Mexico City, 1922-1932].

This article deals with the main features of the emergence and first ten years of the Centros de Higiene Infantil, facilities run by the Departamento de Salubridad Pública from 1922 on in Mexico City with the goal of providing care for mothers from pregnancy onwards and children from birth to two years of age. It reviews the actions that gave rise to this project and how it became established. It analyzes the structure of these centers, the characteristics of the mothers and children seen there and the functions performed by doctors and nurses, stressing the notion of preventing childhood illnesses, and ends with a first assessment of the effects and limitations of these centers.