Author Description
Based on personal accounts by birthing women and their medical attendants, Brought to Bed reveals how childbirth has changed from colonial times to the late twentieth century. Judith Walzer Leavitt's classic study focuses on the traditional woman-centered home-birthing practices, their replacement by male doctors, and the movement from the home to the hospital. Leavitt narrates the shifting power of childbearing women and their physicians, as well as changes in infant and maternal mortality. She also discusses how women have attempted to retrieve some of the traditional women--and family--centered aspects of childbirth. This 30th anniversary edition includes a new preface that reviews the burgeoning writing on the history of childbirth since its publication.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the historical transformation of childbirth practices in America from 1750 to 1950, specifically examining the shift from home-based, female-centered care to hospital-based, physician-led medicalization. Judith Walzer Leavitt, a historian of medicine and women's health, utilizes a vast array of primary source materials, including personal diaries, letters, and medical records. Her analysis centers on the power dynamics between birthing women and their attendants, documenting how cultural expectations and medical advancements influenced maternal and infant outcomes over two centuries.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Historical analysis of the transition from midwifery to obstetrics.
- Examination of the medicalization of childbirth and the rise of hospital births.
- Documentation of maternal and infant mortality trends.
- Primary source accounts from birthing women and their medical attendants.
Scope Limits
- The study focuses primarily on the American experience within the specified 1750-1950 timeframe.
- It does not provide a comprehensive global history of obstetrics or modern developments post-1950.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersection of gender and medical history in the United States. Readers often note the academic rigor and the accessibility of the primary source accounts used to illustrate the shifting landscape of reproductive health.
Page Count:
312
Publication Date:
2016-12-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190264128
ISBN-13:
9780190264123
History
Womens Studies
American History
Obstetrics
Childbirth
MEDICAL History
Sociology