CHILDBIRTH AND THE DISPLAY OF AUTHORITY IN EARLY MODERN FRANCE.
Series: WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE EARLY MODERN WORLD
Publisher: ASHGATE
Published: 2005
Place of publication: ALDERSHOT
Language: und
Number of pages: 257
Description: Throughout the early modern period in France, surgeon men-midwives were predominantly associated with sexual impropriety and physical danger, yet over time they managed to change their image, and by the eighteenth century were summoned to attend even the uncomplicated deliveries of wealthy urban clients. In this study, Lianne McTavish explores how surgeons strove to transform the perception of their midwifery practices, claiming to be experts who embodied obstetrical authority instead of intruders in a traditionally feminine domain.