Angelique du Coudreau ( fr. Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray ; born around 1712, Clermont-Ferrand , France - died April 17, 1794, Bordeaux , ibid.) - court midwife under Louis XV , innovator in obstetrics, trained about 4,000 poor French women midwifery. Created the first dummy for training obstetric care (1758).
| Angelica du Coudreau | |
|---|---|
| fr. Angélique du coudray | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| A place of death | |
| A country | |
| Occupation | |
Content
Life
Angelica du Coudreau was born into a renowned family of doctors in the city of Clermont-Ferrand around 1712. At 25, she completed a three-year training at the School of Surgery and passed a qualification exam. After that, she managed to enter the University of Paris at the Faculty of Medicine, where women were not accepted [2] .
In 1743, the new status of surgeons allowed them to abandon the training of female midwives. Du Cdro and other midwives reacted to this by drafting and signing a petition, which accused the surgeons of neglecting their duties. Their main argument was that failure to educate women on obstetric care will result in midwives being inappropriately trained, and therefore a shortage of certified midwives, which will harm patients [2] . After this petition, the decision to refuse to train women in obstetric care was canceled, and du Cudreau was appointed head of the maternity ward at the Hotel Dieu hospital [3] [4] . Angelica became a prominent and influential figure in Paris [5] .
In 1759, du Coudreau published a textbook on obstetrics Abrégé de l'art des accouchements [2] [4] . In the same year, the king entrusted her with the obligation to train peasants to take birth, in order to reduce child mortality. From 1760 to 1783, Angelica traveled throughout France, educating poor women. During this time, she managed to visit more than 40 cities and train about 4,000 midwives [6] . Her former students, according to some estimates, trained about 6,000 more women [6] . Du Coudreau also trained 500 surgeons and therapists [7] . Traveling around the country and educating people, Kudro became a national sensation and an international symbol of France’s success in medicine [2] .
Angelica died in Bordeaux in April 1794. The circumstances of her death are not known for certain. Due to the fact that her death occurred in the era of terror , some scholars believe that she was killed due to the fact that she served the king. Others believe that she died a natural death from old age [2] .
First Obstetric Dummy
Du Coudreau is the inventor of the first obstetric dummy for training doctors. He was called the "Machine." The creation of each such dummy cost 3,000 livres . Usually they were made of fabric, leather and printed. Sometimes real human bones were used to form the torso. To demonstrate the process of childbirth, Kudro provided the mannequin with straps and strings, with the help of which the birth canal was stretched. The head of the baby mannequin had a shaped nose, ears and ink-painted hair, and an open mouth about 5 cm deep with a tongue. All these details helped train obstetricians in assisting with childbirth with complications. Both mannequins were detailed and accurate [2] .
The invention of the first obstetric dummy was previously attributed to William Smelli , however, the “Machine” du Coudreau was registered by the French Academy of Surgery before (in 1758) [3] .
Abrégé Obstetrics Manual
Her study guide Abrégé de l'art des accouchements on the art of obstetric care was published in 1759. It included le du Coudreau's lectures in the order in which she read from her students. First, information about the female reproductive organs and the process of reproduction was provided, then the need for proper care of the woman during pregnancy and, finally, how to take birth, including with complications, were explained. At Abrégé, Angelica also described the rare situations that she herself faced. The book also contains a description of "Machine." Despite the important contribution of du Coudreau to obstetrics, when it first came out as a guide, he was neglected because of the small format. However, the very existence of Abrégé became an important fact for midwives of the 18th century [5] .
Notes
- ↑ Swartz A. Open Library - 2005.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gelbart, Nina Rattner. The king's midwife: a history and mystery of Madame du Coudray . - Berkeley, Calif .: University of California Press, 1998 .-- 1 online resource (xi, 347 pages) p. - ISBN 9780520221574 .
- ↑ 1 2 Stanley, Autumn, 1933-. Mothers and daughters of invention: notes for a revised history of technology . - New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995 .-- xxxv, 708 pages p. - ISBN 9780813521978 .
- ↑ 1 2 Commire, Anne ,. Du Coudray, Angelique // Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia ..
- ↑ 1 2 Angelique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray's Abrégé de l'art des accouchements (English) , Books, Health and History (May 20, 2014). Date of treatment March 23, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Fissell, Mary E. "Obstetrics and Gynecology from Europe, 1450 to 1789 // Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World.
- ↑ Lindemann, Mary. Medicine and society in early modern Europe . - 2nd ed. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 .-- xii, 300 pages p. - ISBN 9780521732567 .