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Man-Midwifery Under Assault (Again)

Welcome back to the Dittrick Museum Blog! In 2010, we featured a post about a contentious debate concerning 18th-century anatomist William Hunter: Man-midwifery got enough bad press in its day, in 18th century London. Smellie, Hunter, and their confreres have been amply vilified, justly or unjustly, for medicalizing the birth chamber. These chaps have since been heroes of the OB world on one side, and paragons of misogyny on the other. Without wishing to take sides, I couldn’t help but be amused by the latest assault on man-midwifery in the British press, particularly the online versions of The Guardian and...

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