Giving Birth in Eighteenth-Century England
Synopsis
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.
Dr Sarah Fox is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of History and Cultures at the University of Birmingham. Her previous postdoctoral posts include research at Leeds Beckett University and the University of Manchester.
Giving Birth in Eighteenth-Century England appears in New Historical Perspectives, an Open Access monograph series for Early Career Scholars from the Royal Historical Society and Institute of Historical Research.
Chapters
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Introduction
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1. Birth and the body
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2. Birth and the household
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3. Food and birth
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4. The birth family
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5. The community of birth
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Conclusion
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Appendix: sources and methodology
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Bibliography
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