The control of childbirth : women versus medicine through the ages / Phyllis L. Brodsky ; foreword by Mary Ann Shah.

Jefferson, N.C. ; London : McFarland & Co., [2008], ©2008.

ix, 211 pages ; 23 cm

Childbirth in primitive and ancient times -- The Middle Ages: an era of despair and persecution -- The sixteenth century: a Renaissance -- The seventeenth century: men and their instruments -- The eighteenth century: men and science -- The nineteenth century: men and disease -- Childbirth in early America -- Nineteenth-century America: the birth of obstetrics and gynecology -- Early twentieth-century America: the "midwife problem" and medicalized childbirth -- The second half of the twentieth century: technology-managed childbirth, by Edna Quinn -- The twenty-first century: technological childbirth challenged -- Conclusion: women in power.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-207) and index.