title: Paula Modersohn-Becker, the challenges of pregnancy and the weight of tradition.
abstract: Paula Modersohn-Becker, widely considered to have been one of the most important independent Expressionist painters of the early twentieth century, was thirty-one years old when she gave birth to her first child. Following the then-common practice of putting women to bed rest for two-four weeks after delivery, she died of massive pulmonary embolism when she was first allowed to stand, eighteen days after giving birth. Paula had foreseen her death at a young age and was apprehensive about her pregnancy, yet she painted herself as pregnant in her best known self-portrait, thus underlining the importance of the pregnancy in her life. In the light of knowledge available at the time, the authors present a brief discussion of the life and death of Paula Modersohn-Becker as a reflection on the potential dangers of blindly following conventional wisdom in the medical profession.
authors.affiliation: SS Nephrology, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Torino, TO, Italy. gbpiccoli@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Giorgina B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Piccoli
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Karakas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism