Book review: Read – Maids, wives, widows: exploring early modern women’s lives 1540-1740
 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 ÂŁ5.00 + p&p Other book reviews
Book review: Christensen – The Popish midwife (2016)
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 […]
Celebrating 500 years of Pregnancy and Birth
Please click on the image thumbnails below for details of a forthcoming event: Celebrating 500 years of Pregnancy and Birth: 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 […]
History of midwifery exhibition – Library, RCPSG, 11th, 18th May 2015 – Glasgow
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 […]
Sheila Kitzinger 1929-2015
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 […]
Transforming Pregnancy Since 1900
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 […]
Birth: personal stories to population policies – conference
18th-19th September 2014, University of Leeds This two-day conference, organised by the School of History’s Health, Medicine and Society research group, brings together those interested in the history of birth, fertility, sexuality, demography and family life, from the medieval period to the present day, and in cultures across the world. The conference aims to situate […]