Routledge - Authority, Gender, and Midwifery in Italy Book

Explore the complex history of childbirth and medical regulation in early modern Italy with this academic study from Routledge. Contested Deliveries examines how church, state, and medical authorities attempted to control and professionalize midwifery practices between the late sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries. This book investigates the historical tension between traditional female practitioners and emerging medical authorities. You will learn how medical writers of this era focused on the secrets of female sexuality and the processes of generation. While male practitioners in Britain and France began to enter the field as midwives by the eighteenth century, female midwives remained the primary providers for the vast majority of births. This work provides a detailed look at the social and political struggles surrounding reproductive healthcare and gender roles during this transformative period in Italian history.