The sometimes uncertain world of Canadian obstetrics, 1900-1950.
All specialties in medicine in the first half of the twentieth century partook of the prestige of medical science and their practitioners looked to the past as a gauge to how far their specialty had progressed. Obstetrics was no different. The introductions to most obstetric textbooks and articles contained almost mandatory praise for the advances made. The writers acknowledged the art of obstetrics and, at times, gave it equal rhetorical standing, but in emphasis, the "science" of obstetrics dominated. Yet underlying the bravado was an unease that not all was well with the field. Several issues contributed to the sense of anxiety-the deficiencies in obstetrical education, its status vis-à-vis other medical specialties, the reality of practice, including the remuneration received, and the perception of competition from "unqualified" individuals. Such concerns are important for historians of childbirth to recognize.
Mitchinson
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University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
D002170:Canada; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000266:history*