Louise Bourgeois Boursier — midwife
- Creator(s):
- Boursier, Louise Bourgeois
- Title:
- Observations diuerses, sur la sterilité, perte de fruict, foecondite, accouchements, et maladies des femmes, et enfants nouueaux naiz
- Publication/Origin:
- Paris: Chez Melchior Mondiere, 1642-1644
- Description:
- On the engraved title page of Louise Bourgeois Boursier’s Observations diuerses, babies abound and thanks are given to God. But it is the skill and lessons contained in this, the first book on obstetrics written by a woman, which we acknowledge. Louise Bourgeois turned to midwifery to support her family while her surgeon husband served in the army. In 1598 she received certification and passed the entrance examination to the midwives’ guild, eventually becoming midwife to the French court and to Marie de Medici, delivering all six of the Queen’s infants. Bourgeois attended over 2,000 deliveries of ordinary people as well as the aristocracy.
- Citation:
- Boursier, Louise Bourgeois, Observations diuerses, sur la sterilité, perte de fruict, foecondite, accouchements, et maladies des femmes, et enfants nouueaux naiz, Paris: Chez Melchior Mondiere, 1642-1644, Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed November 16, 2024, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/3991