Sages-femmes et accoucheurs : l'obstétrique populaire aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles - article ; n°5 ; vol.32, pg 927-957

Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations - Année 1977 - Volume 32 - Numéro 5 - Pages 927-957
Written by and for doctors, the history of obstetrics long remainded a history of obstetrical techniques; it was only incidentally that interest was taken in the woman and the new-born child.
Until the last century, childbirth was a dangerous process, especially in the country, that the community midwife was not always able to control. But with the end of the 17th century, the near monopoly of the midwives was broken by the accoucheurs whose scheme was favored by the evolution of the mores, the support of the State, and the understanding of the Church.
The creation of schools for midwives, in the second half of the 18th century, brought childbirth under the control of doctors : the midwife became simple assistant
31 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.