Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Female Body in Early Modern Germany

“A More Careful Tender Nurse Cannot Be than My Dear Husband”

“…For example, in respect to early modern Germany, Ulinka Rublack has shown that not only did men nurture, entertain and comfort pregnant women, they were also held to account 1 by the local community if they did not show their wives due respect and care. 6 A number of historians studying English pregnancy and childbirth have also reached similar conclusions. Becky R. Lee has noted that although men may have been barred from entering the physical space of the birthing chamber, their personal, political and dynastic interests could penetrate its walls, blurring the boundaries between male and female spaces.…”

Miscarriage and Coping in the Mid‐Nineteenth Century: Private Notes from Distant Places

“…47 His participation closely reflected general experiences of the early modern period, in which men were expected to be in close proximity to their wives before and after childbirth so that they could offer them emotional support, yet not necessarily during. 48 In an analysis of nineteenth-century medical textbooks, Jill Suitor has documented the increased participation of husbands in childbirth, especially from the 1830s. 49 She suggests that increased participation was linked to companionate marriage and the associated emotional intimacy that such couples shared, as well as being related to a changing attitude that placed an emphasis upon childhood as a discrete life-stage.…”

Independent Women and Independent Body Parts: What the Tales and Legends of Nannette Lévesque can Contribute to French Rural Family History

“…Perhaps "Pierre" did not exist, or the official marriage never took place. Whatever the case, it seems clear that Nannette may have experienced childbirth as a trauma, which she was unable to vocalise in words to her audience, and felt forced to act out again with her body, like the illegitimate mothers of early modern Germany studied by Ulinka Rublach (1996). Her narratives are one way in which to attempt this assimilation.…”