For many centuries, the practice of Obstetrics was beneath the dignity of physicians, and indeed of barber-surgeons. Anatomic studies date back over a millennium with Leonardo da Vinci's depiction of an intrauterine pregnancy.
Chapter 6. Obstetrics and Gynecology
"...A source of disgust, even to herself, the woman beloved by her husband becomes, in this condition, the subject of bodily revulsion to him; and filled with repugnance, everyone else likewise turns his back, repressed by the intolerable, foul, uriniferous odor...The tender mother is rejected from the circle of her children..."
— Johann Dieffenbach on vesico-vaginal fistulae, 1836
Topics covered in this chapter include:
- Obstetrics
- The Role of the Midwife
- A (Secret) Landmark Discovery
- The Dangers of Delivery
- Medical Abortion
- Instruments of Destruction
- After the Blessed Event
- Instruments Designed for Women