Course Purpose and Overview
The purpose of this course is to give students an overview of the history of midwifery, with culminating in an idea/project to instigate change in the future. Students will also have the chance to practice writing and using the APA format.
Midwives College of Utah. (2021). HIST 1010: History of midwifery. Midwives College of Utah Midwifing Midwives, 3-4. https://midwifery.instructure.com/courses/2997/files/414974?wrap=1
● Students will understand the evolution in childbirth practices throughout known history
● Students will evaluate the changes of the role of midwives and power imbalances among gender, socioeconomic status, religious status, etc. and the impact on parental and fetal health and outcomes.
● Students will choose three practices of modern obstetrics or midwifery practice to examine from an evidence-based perspective
● Students will explore African American midwifery history, or the history of midwifery of another American ethnic group of their choosing. They will understand how advances in prenatal and birth care have been used to reinforce dominant paradigms of privilege.
● Students will examine historical practices of midwifery and contextualize the roots of modern midwifery practices
● Students will begin to examine the problems with the maternal health care delivery system in the United States.
● Students will explore modern midwifery initiatives in the United States and Abroad.
● Students will explore their chosen communities for gaps in maternal health care and prepare a midwifery initiative to address an issue of their choosing.
Midwives College of Utah. (2021). HIST 1010: History of midwifery. Midwives College of Utah Midwifing Midwives, 3-4. https://midwifery.instructure.com/courses/2997/files/414974?wrap=1
Sauber, W. (2012, August 10). The death of Francesca Pitti Tornabuoni after childbirth [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bargello_-_Verrocchio_Tornabuoni_2.jpg
I chose this image because many images I found that are this old depicted death during childbirth which was more common back then, but there were few monuments like this. I have always loved ancient marble carvings. I couldn't really find much more information on this piece, but looking at it I think it depicts how childbirth was being surrounded by other women and looks like a lot more chaos than modern-day obstetrical problems. Back then they didn't have as many options to save women, so I am sure once it has been decided that they would die, there was more crying, praying, hair pulling in the one, and frustration about the situation. All they could do is hold and support her.
Those are the articles I chose to read. The first link of history ancient matriarchies begins by discussing how much of history looks like everything was run by patriarchies when in reality there were many revered women. The first one it discusses is the ancient queens of Kush also known as nubia. They ruled alongside their brothers and had king consorts. They battled and won again Augustus Caesar and negotiated a peace treaty with Rome. Next, it talked about the Sitones or germanic tribal warrior women located somewhere near Scandinavia first century BC. It was known as the land of women. The Mosuo who call themselves the NA, are one of the last true matriarchies in the world. These women completely rule all aspects. The men are only responsible for farming and fishing. When they marry they stay with their mothers and the husband stays with his father. They meet at night and then return to their families. The children belong to the mother's family and take the mother's name. All of these societies were/are women-ruled and strong communities.
The next two are discussing how patriarchies write the histories most of the time and are succeeding in dismantling the history of successful matriarchies. Before the patriarchal era, civilizations were female divinity worshiped and centered. There are no serious arguments against this, but there are many silly attempts to dismiss this. One culture tried to argue that despite their full hips and breasts, they may not be female since men have breasts too sometimes. Another argument was that all the feminine artwork depicted was pornography. The new stone age tends to make people think loincloths and primitive, but really it was multi-story palaces, farming, and advanced transportation. This was a time still ran matriarchal. When patriarchy began taking hold is about the same time fortifications and weapons of death and warfare appear. The feminine heritage was referring to the first 19th of human history being matriarchal. The original worshiped gods and divinities were female forms. This was thought to be a localized concept but archeologists continued to find proof of this worldwide. There used to be only a universal goddess and her priestess until the patriarchy come about and changed to a male god. Some deities were completely replaced, some changed sexes, and some were slowly transitioned out. Ancient cultures all worshiped "the great goddess" even when cultures started to change to a male deity. Many historians have found that men were referred to as the weaker sex, trusted to hunt, fish, gather certain foods, mind flocks, and herds so long as they did not transgress matriarchal law. The overall summary of these last two articles was to show the transition from matriarchal to patriarchal societies and show the success of matriarchal times and the prosperity that was brought to the world of peace and creativity. I feel that matriarchal societies for health care would have done much better in trying to protect women during childbirth since women were worshiped and it was sacred. Then when patriarchal societies began taking over and women became shameful and lesser, health care and childbirth took a turn for the worst. This wasn't in these articles that I read but I have read in another in the past that there was one point in history shortly after this change to patriarchal that giving birth was sinful and a woman was allowed no help other than a midwife could come cut her baby out and save the baby from her sin and leave her to die. Clearly, it improved since then but that was where it went at one point from being worshiped and sacred.
