How could men appear to be trustworthy birth assistants at a time when women were associated with a bodily comprehension of childbirth? To answer this question, Lianne McTavish examines a range of sources, focusing on obstetrical treatises and pamphlets published in early modern France, looking in particular at the visual culture of childbirth.

Contents: Introduction: interpreting obstetrical treatises; French treatises 1550-1730: a survey; Risking exposure: the visual politics of childbirth; Reading the midwife's body: Louise Bourgeois; Looking the part: men-midwives on display; Bodies in labour: rhetoric, rivalry, and male maternity; Handling the unborn: men-midwives between vision and blindness; Conclusions; Selected bibliography; Index.

Lianne McTavish is a Professor in the Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta, Canada. She has published work on early modern French visual culture, the history of childbirth, and critical museum theory.