O zaleceniach i przestrogach dla przyszłych matek w poradnikach medycznych z drugiej połowy XVIII wieku

Abstract

The foundation of considerations undertaken herein is constituted by Polishlanguage medical guides published during the Enlightenment and entirely devoted to issues of health, physical and mental state, emotional wellbeing, and behaviour of women from the time of their pregnancy (the period of gestation), to being in labour and over the period of puerperium. Advices, recommendations and warnings for future mothers as well as for their caregivers during this challenging period, are in the centre of the author’s attention. By describing an attitude of physicians, devoid of belittling prejudices towards pregnant women (their experiences, behaviours, and emotionally and mentally inadequate reactions to their own ailing and changes in their bodies), the author suggests that it implies a new, mature way of defining their role in society. A particular attention is given by the author also to the statements from the guides concerning the emotions, needs, and threats with which the prospective mothers are faced, as well as to the utterances aimed at persuading the physicians to respect the recommendations issued by more experienced medical doctors. What is more, the undertaken recommendations emphasize the changes in attitudes towards various pregnancy‑related issues in the 18th century, which translated into changes in the manner of providing care to both mothers and their newborn children, as well as into a change in attitude to women in general.