Illustration of physical examination of pregnant woman from Jacques-Pierre Maygrier, Nouvelles demonstrations d'accouchemens, avec des planches en taille-douce, accompagnees d'un texte raisonne, propre a en faciliter l'explication (1822)
Full text available: https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_48560
| Date | 1822 |
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| Location | Unknown |
| Description | This shows an accoucheur averting his eyes while carrying out a physical examination to determine the stage of pregnancy, known then as, ‘touching the woman’. The illustration perfectly captures the challenges faced by early man-midwives who sought to protect female modesty yet still be able to undertake obstetrical examination. This was the focus of much satire, and the practice was not without criticism. In order to gain the trust of pregnant women and prevent accusations of indecent behaviour, male students and man-midwives were advised to touch but not look. Jacques-Pierre Maygrier (1771–1835) was a Paris-trained surgeon who published several major works on obstetrics in the early 19th century. This folio contains 80 large anatomical and obstetrical illustrations |
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