Giving birth in eighteenth-century England / Sarah Fox.

  • Fox, Sarah (Social and cultural historian)
Date:
[2022]
  • Books

About this work

Description

"This fascinating new book radically rewrites all that we know about eighteenth-century childbirth by placing women's voices at the centre of the story. From quickening through to confinement, giving caudle, delivery and lying-in, birth was once a complex ritual that involved entire communities. Drawing on an extensive and under-researched body of materials, such as letters, diaries and recipe books, this book offers critical new perspectives on the history of the family and community. It explores the rituals of childbirth, from birthing clothing to the foods traditionally eaten before and after birth, and also how a woman's relationship with her family, husband, friends and neighbours changed during pregnancy and beyond. In this important and deeply moving study, we are invited on a detailed and emotive journey through motherhood in an age of immense intellectual and sociocultural change."--From publisher.

Publication/Creation

London : Institute of Historical Research, University of London Press, [2022]

Physical description

xiii, 238 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour) ; 25 cm.

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Birth and the body -- Birth and the household -- Food and birth -- The birth family -- The community of birth.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    UO.41.AA7
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9781914477058
  • 1914477057