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Author: Catherine
Web editor, De Partu
Book review: Rossini – A history of adoption in England and Wales: 1850-1961
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Rossini, Gill (2014) A history of adoption in England and Wales: 1850-1961 Barnsley: Pen and Sword £19.99; $39.95 9781781593950 “This thoughtful book is well worth reading for anyone interested in social history” Reviewed by Dr Lindsay Reid Other book reviews |
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 |
De Partu meeting May 26th-27th 2017: programme now available
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De Partu meeting in York Friday May 26th p.m. and Saturday May 27th York Explore Library Saturday £25.00 – includes refreshments Download programme Register via Eventbrite Recommendations for accommodation Map of York city centre |
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 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.
De Partu meeting: The Use of Research Resources in Midwifery History
Dates for your diary …
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 an opportunity for members to present papers on work in progress; further details to follow shortly.
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 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
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.
Desperate measures: an exploration of 18th- and 19th-century obstetric devices from the Manchester Medical Collection
Note: the lecture will give an account of the use of these instruments in destructive operations intended to save the life of the mother — some of the ‘desperate measures’ to which the title refers.
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 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).
Births and the collective provision of welfare: the long view c.1550-2014
BBC podcast: Dr Helena Wright talks to Sue MacGregor
The “mother of family planning in the UK” Dr Helena Wright talks to Sue MacGregor in 1980 about the early days of the Family Planning Association which formed in 1930.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whnews
NB this podcast is available for 27 days only – from 17/09/14
Full text of Midwives Act 1936 now available
A scanned PDF copy of the Midwives Act 1936 can now be downloaded from the Resources page