Author: Catherine

Web editor, De Partu

Problems viewing images on De Partu website using Google Chrome browser

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There is currently a known problem viewing images on this site with the Google Chrome browser. It relates to the recent implementation of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to improve its security. We have received advice from the hosting company on how the problem can be rectified. Owing to the large number of images on the site, the process is likely to be somewhat labour-intensive. Please bear with us meanwhile, and use alternative browsers (e.g. Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge) to access the site.

Book review: Read – Maids, wives, widows: exploring early modern women’s lives 1540-1740

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  Read, Sara (2015)
Maids, wives, widows: exploring early modern women’s lives 1540-1740
Barnsley: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 9781473823402
“A lively exploration of the everyday lives of women in early modern England from 1540-1740”
Reviewed by Dr Julia Allison

Available directly from the author via her website sararead.co.uk for £5.00 + p&p

Other book reviews

Book review: Christensen – The Popish midwife (2016)

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Terri Coates’ review of Annelisa Christensen’s historical novel, The Popish midwife, is now available. It is based on the life of the 17th-century Roman Catholic midwife Elizabeth Cellier.

The book is available from Amazon and all good bookshops. It is also available on Kindle and directly from The Conrad Press website.

The author’s blog discusses her inspiration for writing the book: The Popish midwife (why I wrote her story).

We are looking forward to debating “creative non-fiction” and historical veracity at our forthcoming meeting in York.

Celebrating 500 years of Pregnancy and Birth

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Please click on the image thumbnails below for details of a forthcoming event:

Celebrating 500 years of Pregnancy and Birth:

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This is being organised by Professor Valerie Worth (Trinity College, Oxford) in collaboration with the RCOG and De Partu. Attendees may also be interested in attending a De Partu meeting on September 3rd 2015, where there will be an opportunity for members to present papers on work in progress; further details to follow shortly.

Information and booking form – PDF version

History of midwifery exhibition – Library, RCPSG, 11th, 18th May 2015 – Glasgow

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In this centenary year of the Midwives (Scotland) Act 1915, this exhibition takes a look at the fascinating history of midwifery. Works by William Hunter and the man-midwife William Smellie will be on display.

Crush Hall and the Library Reading Room of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow are open to visitors on Monday afternoons from 2.00 p.m. until 5.00 p.m.

Visit the library blog for more information about the exhibitions.

Sheila Kitzinger 1929-2015

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The death has been announced today of Sheila Kitzinger, at the age of 86.

Sheila Kitzinger made a significant contribution to the understanding of birth in its social context from a feminist perspective, and was a catalyst for improvements in maternity services from the 1960s onwards.

She was a prolific author, and became a legend in her own lifetime. Despite her widening fame she was generous with her time, always willing to provide support and help to women and midwives.

BBC News obituary

Transforming Pregnancy Since 1900

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Around 1900, few pregnant women in Western Europe or North America had any contact with a medical practitioner before going into labour. By the end the twentieth century, the hospitalisation of childbirth, the legalisation of abortion and a host of biomedical technologies from the Pill and IVF to obstetric ultrasound and prenatal diagnosis had dramatically extended the reach of science and medicine into human reproduction. A special issue of Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences published this month reflects on the social, medical and technological shifts that have shaped the experience and management of pregnancy since the turn of the twentieth century. Originating in a workshop held in Cambridge in 2012 supported by the Wellcome Trust-funded ‘Generation to Reproduction’ project, the special issue is edited by Dr Salim Al-Gailani (University of Cambridge) and Dr Angela Davis (University of Warwick).