‘Drawing aside the curtain’: natural childbirth on screen in 1950s Britain

Holistic obstetrics: the origins of "natural childbirth" in Britain.

The term "natural childbirth" denotes an approach to childbirth characterised by a bias towards physical and mental hygiene in the management of pregnancy and labour. It emerged in Britain in the interwar period, partly as a response to the growing interventionism of mainstream obstetrics. Its appeal since then has rested on the belief that it could provide a holistic approach to maternity care...

Gender and working class identity in Britain during the 1950s.

HISTORY OF MEDICINE Holistic obstetrics: the origins of “natural childbirth” in Britain

The term “natural childbirth” denotes an approach to childbirth characterised by a bias towards physical and mental hygiene in the management of pregnancy and labour. It emerged in Britain in the interwar period, partly as a response to the growing interventionism of mainstream obstetrics. Its appeal since then has rested on the belief that it could provide a holistic approach to maternity care...

Natural Childbirth

proceedings, and the present volume comprises such a report of the first conference, which was held in November 1949, under the chairmanship of C. N. H. Long. Each of five sessions was opened by a concise presentation of one topic in the field, as follows: Relation of Chemical Structure of Adrenal Cortical Hormones to Biological Activity, by Edward C. Kendall; Regulation of Adrenal Cortical Sec...

Natural Childbirth