2. Stamps Dedicated to the Important Obstetric and Gynecology Facilities & Hospitals
Yusuf Kamil Bey (1808-1876), appointed by the Ottoman Palace to the service of Egyptian Governor Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha in Cairo, married Zeynep Hanım (1825–1884), the youngest daughter of the Pasha. They didn’t have children, in return they became parents of many orphans. In 1860, the couple bought a plot of land in Istanbul to establish a hospital with 100 beds, named Zeynep Kamil Hospital, which is now one of the oldest health care institutions of Istanbul, and has been able to maintain health service to date. Zeynep Kamil Hospital is a specialized hospital for Obstetrics & Gynecology, in which patients are cured for free. For the past 50 years, the number of births registered in this hospital is approximately 1,200,000 39 .
In 1960, a stamp with a breastfeeding puerpera was printed in Turkey to commemorate Zeynep Kamil Hospital’s 100th anniversary, as well as its contributions to obstetrics & gynecology (Fig 11).
Princess Maria Luisa decided on establishing the first specialized Obstetrics and Gynecology hospital in Bulgaria in 1883 and funded the establishment. “Maichin Dom”, meaning “Mothers’ Home” in Bulgarian, was officially opened in 1903 40.
In 2015, this well-established institution was commemorated by the Bulgarian post office on its 111th anniversary with a 0.65-Bulgarian lev stamp. Designed by Teodor Liho, the stamp depicts the hospital building, a portrait of Princess Maria Luisa, a fetus in utero and multiple red crosses symbolizing nonaligned medical service for victims of war.