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Author Borst, Charlotte G.

Title Catching babies : the professionalization of childbirth, 1870-1920 / Charlotte G. Borst
Published Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1995

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  618.2009775 Bor/Cbt  AVAILABLE
Description xi, 254 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Contents Introduction: Midwives, Physicians, and Professionalism -- 1. Training Midwives -- 2. A Married Woman's Occupation -- 3. Neighbor Women in the Country -- 4. Midwife Entrepreneurs in the City -- 5. Educating Physicians -- 6. Country Doctors Replace Midwives -- 7. Specializing Obstetrics -- Conclusion: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Meanings of Professionalism
Summary Childbirth is a quintessential family event that simultaneously holds great promise and runs the risk of danger. By the late nineteenth century, the birthing room had become a place where the goals of the new scientific professional could be demonstrated, but where traditional female knowledge was in conflict with the new ways. Here the choice of attendants and their practices defined gender, ethnicity, class, and the role of the professional. Using the methodology of social science theory, particularly quantitative statistical analysis and historical demography, Charlotte Borst examines the effect of gender, culture, and class on the transition to physician-attended childbirth. Catching Babies is the first study to examine the move to physician-attended birth within the context of a particular community. It focuses on four representative counties in Wisconsin to study both midwives and physicians within the context of their community
Analysis Midwifery--United States
Notes Includes bibliographic references and index
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [177]-250) and index
Subject Childbirth -- Wisconsin -- History -- 19th century.
Childbirth -- Wisconsin -- History -- 20th century.
Midwifery -- Wisconsin -- History.
Midwives -- Wisconsin -- History.
Obstetrics -- Wisconsin -- History.
Professions -- Sociological aspects.
LC no. 95005261
ISBN 0674102622