A cultural history of pregnancy : pregnancy, medicine, and culture, 1750-2000

Review 'As a teacher, I am grateful to Hanson for bringing forth a study that combines a careful historical reconstruction of the scientific practices surrounding pregnancy with incisive analysis of cultural representations responding to and shaping those practices. A timely and much-needed book!' - Dr Lisa Zunshine, Department of English, University of Kentucky 'A fascinating study which combines clear exposition of scientific thought with incisive analysis of a range of cultural texts and contexts. Absorbing and illuminating, this book makes a major contribution both to our understanding of the history of medicine and of the intricate interrelations between medicine and culture.' - Peter Gluckmann FRS, Distinguished Professor, University of Auckland 'The historical sweep of this study is impressive and its emphasis on the way pregnancy is framed and experienced makes it a landmark text. 'Informal' knowledges shared by midwives and mothers over the centuries are set deftly against the discourses of science and medical observation. The resulting argument illustrates how the images, myths and 'facts' about pregnancy contribute to shifting accounts of what pregnancy means in a given culture at a given time. From the rise in obstetrics in the eighteenth century to the ever-shifting boundaries of reproductive technology in the twenty-first century, this book captures the continuing tensions between our definitions of nature and culture, science and experience, to show that pregnancy, as both medical condition and cultural experience, is ripe for re-evaluation.' - Imelda Whelehan, Professor of English and Women's Studies, De Montfort University 'Hanson builds up a rounded picture of the joys, pains and prejudices that have surrounded pregnancy since 1750.' - Beth Wright, Women: A Cultural Review Product Description Hanson explores the different ways in which pregnancy has been constructed and interpreted in Britain over the last 250 years. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including obstetric texts, pregnancy advice books, literary texts, popular fiction and visual images, she analyzes changing attitudes to key issues such as the relative rights of mother and fetus and the degree to which medical intervention is acceptable in pregnancy. Hanson also considers the effects of medical and social changes on the subjective experience of pregnancy. This Study Makes An Important Contribution To The Exploration Of The Relationship Between Medicine And Culture. Drawing On A Wide Range Of Sources, Including Obstetric Texts, Advice Books For Women, Medico-social Texts, Literature And Popular Culture, Clare Hanson Explores The Changing Ways In Which Pregnancy Has Been Interpreted And Understood Over The Last 250 Years. A Number Of Influential But Neglected Concepts Which Have Inflected The Experience Of Pregnancy Are Brought To Light And Examined Critically: These Include Maternal Impressions, The 'insanity Of Pregnancy', Eugenic Motherhood And Ectogenesis. The Book Thus Uncovers A History Of Ideas Which Have Shaped Both The Subjective Experience And The Medical Management Of Pregnancy. In Particular, It Reveals The Changing Understanding Of The Relationship Between Mother And Foetus, Which Was Construed In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries In Terms Of Harmony (the 'one Flesh' Model Of Pregnancy) But Which Has Increasingly Come To Be Viewed In Terms Of Physiological (and Ethical) Conflict And Competition. Hanson's Book Will Be Of Interest To Students And Scholars In Women's Studies, Gender And Cultural Studies And The Cultural History Of Science, As Well As The General Reader.--jacket. Advice To The Fair Sex -- Moral Physiology -- Mothering The Race -- Mass Production -- Reproductive Futures. Clare Hanson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 199-208) And Index. This thought-provoking study makes an important contribution to the exploration of the relationship between medicine and culture. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including obstetric texts, advice books for women, medico-social texts, literature and popular culture, Clare Hanson explores the changing ways in which pregnancy has been interpreted and understood over the last 250 years. A number of influential but neglected concepts which have inflected the experience of pregnancy are brought to light and examined critically: these include maternal impressions, the 'insanity of pregnancy', eugenic motherhood and ectogenesis. The book thus uncovers a history of ideas which have shaped both the subjective experience and the medical management of pregnancy. In particular, it reveals the changing understanding of the relationship between mother and foetus, which was construed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in terms of harmony (the 'one flesh' model of pregnancy) but which has increasingly come to be viewed in terms of physiological (and ethical) conflict and competition. A comprehensive account of pregnancy and the cultural discourses surrounding it over the last three centuries, Hanson's book is a useful reference for students and scholars in women's studies, gender and cultural studies and the cultural history of science, as well as the general reader Hanson explores the different ways in which pregnancy has been constructed and interpreted in Britain over the last 250 years. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including obstetric texts, pregnancy advice books, literary texts, popular fiction and visual images, she analyzes changing attitudes to key issues such as the relative rights of mother and foetus and the degree to which medical intervention is acceptable in pregnancy. Hanson also considers the effects of medical and social changes on the subjective experience of pregnancy.