A Handy Guide to Pregnancy and Birth
for the Seventeenth-century Woman
by Sara Read

Another Rebecca

Available on Kindle here
For trade copies or author copies please contact us on [email protected]
In 1671, one midwife, Jane Sharp, drew on her thirty years of experience to publish a guide for her sister midwives.

In The Midwives Book; or, The Whole Art of Midwifry Discovered, her aim was to reduce the numbers of women suffering at the hands of those with no anatomical or theoretical training.

​The book was divided into separate sections covering ‘conception, breeding, bearing, and nursing of children’. Her book was written in such a ​way that it could be used to inform prospective parents as well as professionals.
This Handy Guide gives a fascinating insight into:

  • Signs that you are expecting
  • Still not sure? Try a test?
  • Not pregnant yet? Try this test to see if the man or woman requires medical help
  • Congratulations, you are pregnant. Now want to know if it is a girl or a boy?
  • The position of the infant in the womb
  • Be careful what you wish for
  • To try to prevent miscarriage
  • Rules for Midwives managing a Woman in Labour
  • Instructions for Midwives Managing Postnatal Care
  • The Woman's Month