Book

Mrs Stone & Dr Smellie : eighteenth-century midwives and their patients

Woods, Robert, author, Galley, Chris, author

Overview

How did midwives deliver women in the past? How did they cope with problems such as unnatural presentations, haemorrhage, miscarriage, and stillbirths? Were lives being prolonged and risks diminished? Midwifery case notes offer a considerable source of evidence, which, when used with care and imagination, help answer these questions. 'Mrs Stone & Dr Smellie' demonstrates this in a fascinating way by analysing the work of two well-known midwives together with 22 of their contemporaries. Sarah Stone's 'A Complete Practice of Midwifery' is probably unique in providing a female midwife's perspective on childbirth in provincial England during the eighteenth century. It provides a detailed, albeit selective, account of the problems faced by midwives, what they could do for their patients, and how likely they were to succeed. William Smellie (1697-1763) occupies a pivotal position in the history of midwifery. His case notes detail the problems he faced, the people he dealt with, how he combined domiciliary clinical practice with advanced instruction, and the way in which he presented his work to a wider community for their enlightenment. -- Publisher's description.

• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Subject: Stone, Sarah, active 1737. / Smellie, William, 1697-1763. / Midwifery Great Britain History 18th century. / Midwifery Great Britain History 18th century Sources. / Midwifery history. / History, 19th Century. / Midwifery. / United Kingdom.
• ISBN: 9781781381410, 1781381410

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
RG950.W66 2014	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE