Practising obstetrics in the 17th century: François Mauriceau (1637–1709)

Abstract

In 17th century France, the practice of obstetrics passed from female midwives to medical men called accoucheurs. François Mauriceau, a prominent French obstetrician of the 17th century urged the need of an organised obstetrical education, emphasising anatomy. He invented the semi-recumbent or ‘French’ birthing position, the ‘tire-tête’ forceps, the ‘Mauriceau manoeuvre’ in breech delivery, and provided one of the first epidemiological analyses in obstetrics contributing enormously to the development of this specialty. His best-seller, Traité des maladies des femmes grosses revolutionised the practice of obstetrics.

Keywords::

• Mauriceau–Smellie–Veit manoeuvre
• Mauriceau
• men midwives
• obstetrics
• tire-tête

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.