First published in 1690 <strong>The Court Midwife</strong> made Justine Siegemund 16361705 the spokesperson for the art of midwifery at a time when most obstet... » 

First published in 1690 The Court Midwife made Justine Siegemund 16361705 the spokesperson for the art of midwifery at a time when most obstetricaltexts were written by men. More than a technical manual The Court Midwifecontains descriptions of obstetric techniques of midwifery and its attendantsocial pressures. Siegemunds visibility as a writer midwife and proponent ofan incipient professionalism accorded her a status virtually unknown to Germanwomen in the seventeenth century. Translated here into English for the firsttime The Court Midwife contains riveting birthing scenes sworn testimonialsby former patients and a brief autobiography. «