History of Childbirth

Highly detailed and clearly written, this book is the first full-length study of the complex system of practices, beliefs and taboos which surrounded conception and childbirth in early modern Europe.
In a rich and scholarly study, Jacques Gélis reconstructs the activities and attitudes of the midwives and mothers, and the sufferings they had to endure. He continues with an examination of the role of the Church, the herbalist and the mineral world (touchstones and talisman) in the explanation of the mysteries of procreation.

Jacques Gélis is Maitre-Assistant in History at the University of Paris VIII.

"With great erudition and an enviable feeling for the material, Gelis recovers the world of beliefs concerned with fertility, pregnancy, childbirth and infancy ... from medieval times down to modernity ... This book will surely become the standard scholarly text on the history of childbirth in pre-modern time." Roy Porter, Wellcome Institute "A moving record of women's lives." Times Literary Supplement "It is immensely valuable that Gelis brings back the forgotten importance of symbolic meanings and therefore the awareness of an integration with nature." Times Higher Education Supplement "Much fascinating information and many anecdotes ... it is such a good book." History Today "The variety and detail make compulsive reading." Medical History "A significant work ... it offers a wealth of new material and points to many rich areas for further research." French History "A breathtaking view of pre-modern rural and urban life ... this book successfully conjures up the world of our foremothers and their daily lives and beliefs." Medical Women "Enjoyable, informative and very readable." Journal of Biosocial Science