History of Childbirth

Jacques Gélis is Maitre-Assistant in History at the University of Paris VIII.

Introduction. Part I: The Rhythms of the Earth: The Mother of all Things:.

1. Man, the Earth and the Cosmos.

2. Daughter, Wife and Mother.

3. What if No Child Appears?.

4. The Cycle of Life.

Part II: Pregnancy: A Time of Hope, Suffering and Anxiety:.

5. The Body in Pregnancy.

6. The Experience of Pregnancy.

Part III: The Woman Giving Birth:.

7. The Society of Birth.

8. Hastening the Hour of Deliverance.

Part IV: Between Mother and Child:.

9. Birth: A Double Liberation.

10. Suffering to Give Life.

11. Stages in the Delivery.

12. The Placenta: Double of the Child.

13. The Governance of Mother and Child.

Part V: The Socialization of the Child:.

14. Welcoming the New Baby.

15. Socializing the Child: Giving a Name.

Part VI: The Divagations of Nature:.

16. The Falling of the Flower.

17. The Unripe Fruit.

18. Unnatural Delivery.

19. Death, the Greatest Aberration.

20. Where does the Beast End and Man Begin?.

Conclusion.

Notes.

Further Reading.