Author Archives: Catherine

About Catherine

Web editor, De Partu

BSHM medicinal plants lectures and Poynter Lecture

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Royal College of Physicians Medicinal plants lectures and the Poynter Lecture of the British Society for the History of Medicine
Monday 11th June 1.30pm-7.00pm
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place, Regents Park, London, NW1 4LE

Plants in Anaesthesia by Dr David Wilkinson, former consultant anaesthetist, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and historian of anaesthesia
A history of plant products used in general and local anaesthesia, including curare, opium, cocaine – and lettuce!
Unicorn Horn and London Treacle:  by Tony Cartwright, retired pharmaceutical regulatory consultant
The story of the College’s Pharmacopeia Londinensis on its 400th anniversary

Poynter Lecture of the British Society for the History of Medicine, 6.00pm:
The Doctor as Collector by Dr Simon Chaplin, Director of Culture and Society at the Wellcome Trust, and previously Head of the Wellcome Library

The price of £10 allows entry to all the lectures on this day, the garden tour and wine reception – booking is now open.

Study day: Education for practitioners and prospective parents during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries

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Trinity College, Oxford

May 5th 2018

This study day is part of  the Knowledge Exchange Partnership between The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH), the De Partu History of Childbirth Group, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The day will focus on the history of midwives’ and obstetricians’ professional education and ways of working together, and aspects of the history of parent education. The programme will include several PhD student presentations.

Details of the programme, and of nearby parking and accommodation, are available on the Events page.


Royal College of Midwives Archives

Books for sale

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Books for sale

De Partu is currently holding an online sale of secondhand and rare books to raise funds for the Jean Donnison History of Childbirth Student Essay Prize. They include potentially useful primary and secondary sources for historical research which are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, some being out of print. The prices have been checked, and aim to be competitive.  All books may be purchased from Amazon via the De Partu ‘store’.

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.

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