The topic I chose to expand on is the role of women, and more specifically, the history of a midwife. In Germany, a midwife is called die weise frau. When I looked at the translation of weise, I found it means wise – wise women. But together, the combination of words translates to midwife – plain and simple. The work of a midwife was technical, and also magical in the eyes of some. The magical part comes into play because, in earlier times, women were not educated and so it was a mystery as to where these midwives learned their practice. It was thought they had a power from supernatural sources. A traditional midwife practiced in small rural towns and villages, without formal training. Knowledge of a midwife was passed down from Grandmother to Mother to Daughter. As the male medical profession began to evolve, midwifes were prosecuted. Many women were tortured and burned, and referred to as witches in order to suppress the competition.
In class we touched on the German nun Hildegard von Bingen, who is
known for her medical practices of healing through prayer, song and herbal science. I also discovered Justine Siegemund was a
renowned German midwife who authored the first female medical book - Court Midwife (1690). Justine never was able to have children, and
after incompetent midwives wrongly assumed she was pregnant, Justine educated
herself about obstetrics and began practicing as a midwife. Her services at first were free to peasants
and poor women, but eventually her expertise and experience was summoned by nobles. At Justine’s death, it was noted she had
birthed almost six thousand two hundred infants.
http://www.midwiferyservices.net/historyofmidwifery.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justine_Siegemund
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