By Reading Thomas Chamberlayne’s 1656 publication, The Compleat Midwifes Practice, that shared the knowledge and case notes of Louise Bourgeois, a French Royal midwife, there are numerous cases of women experiencing physical problems related to birth. One of these cases reveals that the problems women faced were not always the result of the birth process itself, but complications created by past physical trauma and in particular by domestic violence.
Indispensable Midwives?
A Post in Honour of International Day of the Midwife 5 May 2018 is International Day of the Midwife and we’re sure not many women would want to give birth without the calm reassurance and expertise of a midwife. They were clearly indispensable to many early modern women as well.
The Maladies of Midwives
While doing some research for the book Sara and I are writing on diseases and medicines in the early modern era I came across a book published in 1703 by Italian doctor Bernardino Ramazzini. Sometimes referred to as the father of occupational medicine Ramazzini’s book explores ‘the various influence of
By Flesh and Spirit
This week’s post is a quick look at the anthology Flesh and Spirit: An Anthology of Seventeenth-century Women’s Writing August saw the first anniversary of the publication of Flesh and Spirit: An Anthology of Seventeenth-century Women’s Writing (Manchester University Press, 2014) co-edited by Sara, with Rachel Adcock (Keele) and Anna Ziomek. Since we didn’t
Maids, Wives and Widows
This is just a quick post to let readers know that Sara has a new book OUT NOW which some of you might find interesting. Maids, Wives, Widows: Exploring Early Modern Women’s Lives 1540-1740 has several chapters on health care and medicine. The role of the housewife in providing the first line