The midwives of seventeenth-century London

Evenden, D.

The midwives of seventeenth-century London - Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2000 - 260; ill.,bibls.; BookFind - Cambridge history of medicine .

Ecclesiastical licensing of midwives; pre-licensed experience; mothers and midwives; a social and economic profile of London midwives; midwives of 12 London parishes - a socioeconomic case study.

Hardback This book constitutes a comprehensive and detailed study of early modern midwives in 17th-century London. Until quite recently, midwives, as a group, have been dismissed by historians as being inadequately educated and trained for the task of child delivery. This work rejects these claims by exploring the midwives' training and their licensing in an unofficial apprenticeship by the Church. The author also offers an depiction of the midwives in their socioeconomic context by examining a wide range of 17th-century sources. This study not only recovers the names of almost 1000 women who worked as midwives in the 12 London parishes, but also brings to light details about their spouses, their families and their associates.

0521661072


ENGLAND
HISTORY OF MEDICINE
MIDWIFERY, history
OBSTETRICS, history
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