Audioguides
The midwife’s tale
How did a midwife work in the 1800s? What would she have taken with her when she visited the homes of labouring women?
Listen to the midwife’s story:
A royal career for a woman
In early modern Europe, midwifery was one of few professions in which a woman could have a career. Such was the fate of both Louise Bourgeois (1563-1636) and Justine Siegemund (1636-1705). Both worked as court midwives. Both also did something highly unusual at the time for a woman: they published medical textbooks. Listen to their stories here:
From Henbane to Laughing Gas
Pain has always accompanied childbirth. How did women in Sweden deal with labor pain centuries before epidurals?
Learn about the strange history of pain relief here:
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