Midwives and the Transmission of Scientific Knowledge on Births in 19th Century Spain

Authors

  • Teresa Ortiz Gómez Universidad de Granada Instituto de Estudios de la Mujer

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/arenal.v6i1.16935

Keywords:

Midwives, Women's texts, Obstetrics, The history of medicine, The history of midwifery, Health professions

Abstract

Midwives played a role as transmitters of technical knowledge on births that has been ignored by obstetrical and professional historiography. Using archives, legislative sources, the professional press and books on childbirth (among them the first written by a woman in Spain) the changes in the academic training of midwives throughout the 19th century are studied, along with the teaching initiatives of various of them from 1870 onwards. The testimonies of midwives who wrote in order to train others are recovered and their ideas on the woman, the profession and obstetrical science are analysed, together with the alliances they established with medical professionals in order to carry out their objectives.

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Published

1999-01-10

How to Cite

Ortiz Gómez, T. (1999). Midwives and the Transmission of Scientific Knowledge on Births in 19th Century Spain. Arenal. Revista De Historia De Las Mujeres, 6(1), 55–79. https://doi.org/10.30827/arenal.v6i1.16935