UNSPECIFIED (2002) The hidden truths of the belly: The uncertainties of pregnancy in early modern Europe society for the Social History of Medicine student Prize Essay 1999, Runner-Up. SOCIAL HISTORY OF MEDICINE, 15 (2). pp. 209-227. ISSN 0951-631X

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

For early modern men and women and their medical practitioners, the experience and understanding of pregnancy was primarily uncertain. This uncertainty extended to the whole process of pregnancy-from the moment of conception to delivery, the detection and bearing of a 'true fruit' was doubtful. This 'uncertainty' was heightened by the fact that both body and language could conceal the truth. The woman herself was frequently uncertain and could be mistaken in her interpretation of the condition of her belly. This Ambiguity is expressed in the vague and faltering language used to describe such experiences.,Women's bodies were believed to conceal the truth more readily than their male counterparts. Equally,a woman's physical narrative was more likely to be distrusted. Tensions surrounding the appropriate nature of women's 'knowledge' of such hidden,secrets' Also affected the ways in which women and their practitioners described the 'truths' of the belly. This article traces the ambiguities faced by women and their midwives/accoucheurs through three areas of pregnancy: quickening, false conceptions, and the threat of miscarriage. The much-neglected source of medical texts and observations is drawn upon, alongside letters and diaries and judicial material.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	Q Science
Journal or Publication Title:	SOCIAL HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Publisher:	OXFORD UNIV PRESS
ISSN:	0951-631X
Date:	August 2002
Volume:	15
Number:	2
Number of Pages:	19
Page Range:	pp. 209-227
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/10614

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item