ABSTRACT
ProvidinganoverviewofFrenchobstetricaltreatisesischallengingbecausea substantialamountofwritingonchildbirthwasproducedduringtheearlymodern period.Accordingtomyresearch,Frenchauthorscomposedatleast23obstetrical treatisesand1unpublishedtextbetween1550and1730,inadditiontotranslations oftreatisesfirstpublishedinotherlanguages.1Byfocusingonthebroadercategory ofwomen'shealthcare,historianAlisonKlairmontLingoarguesthat22texts(8 translationsand14newpublications)appearedinFrenchfrom1536to1636.2My figuresinclude,however,onlythosetreatisesthatoriginatedinFranceandaddress multipleaspectsofchildbirth.Itemporarilyleavetoonesidetheovertlypolemical pamphletsattackingmalemidwives,tractsdescribingmonstrousbirths,andsources exclusivelyconcernedwithconceptionortheanatomyofthereproductiveorgans.3
Althoughsuchtopicsarefrequentlypresentinobstetricaltreatises,birthmanualsare distinctiveinbothformandcontent.
