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

Wild Pressed Books are away from the office.  Orders placed will not be shipped until September 2019.

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