Difference between revisions of "Week 6 Questions/Comments-327 11"
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I found it interesting just how much of a the process of childbirth changed after male physicians began to be involved. Childbirth transitioned to something that was almost like a social event, to something that was private and one-on-one with a physician. Childbearing was an incredibly strong bond that tied women together and before male physicians, women relied only on midwives and their FEMALE friends and relatives to help them through the pains and labor of childbirth. One of the most interesting aspects of childbirth before male physicians for me was the lengths that women (who were very far along in their pregnancy by this time) would go through to make sure their house was ready to receive all the women that would come to help with the labor, preparing drinks and entertainment for them and other things of that sort. From saying that they "would rather die" than have a male physician help them with medical problems relating to childbirth, to an almost total reliance on them, women seemed to have made the change rather quickly. I think this transition shows again the idea that women saw men as superior, and if they said they could do better at delivering a child, they undoubtedly were. --Grace Christenson | I found it interesting just how much of a the process of childbirth changed after male physicians began to be involved. Childbirth transitioned to something that was almost like a social event, to something that was private and one-on-one with a physician. Childbearing was an incredibly strong bond that tied women together and before male physicians, women relied only on midwives and their FEMALE friends and relatives to help them through the pains and labor of childbirth. One of the most interesting aspects of childbirth before male physicians for me was the lengths that women (who were very far along in their pregnancy by this time) would go through to make sure their house was ready to receive all the women that would come to help with the labor, preparing drinks and entertainment for them and other things of that sort. From saying that they "would rather die" than have a male physician help them with medical problems relating to childbirth, to an almost total reliance on them, women seemed to have made the change rather quickly. I think this transition shows again the idea that women saw men as superior, and if they said they could do better at delivering a child, they undoubtedly were. --Grace Christenson | ||
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| + | I found this article to be quite interesting. The introduction of practiced obstetrics and male physicians brought about a huge social and cultural shift in women's lives during this time, and I can imagine the mixed feelings that were taking place. Medical physicians could be seen as a good thing. They assist women through the act of birth and they could better help the women if any complications were to arise; however, many women and their husbands had difficult times allowing another man to see her in that state. As one husband stated with regards to the doctor, he "would demolish him if he touched or looked at his wife" (87). For so many years, the acts of pregnancy and childbirth were considered within a woman's realm. They were social bonding events where women came together and helped in any way they could for the mother. -- Lindsey S. | ||
== JUDITH SARGENT MURRAY, Story of Margaretta, 1798 == | == JUDITH SARGENT MURRAY, Story of Margaretta, 1798 == | ||
