The ‘cursus laborum’ of Roman Women: Social and Medical Aspects of the Transition from Puberty to Motherhood

Description

This book assesses a narrow but vital – and so far understudied – part of Roman women's lives: puberty, preparation for pregnancy, pregnancy and childbirth. Bringing together for the first time the material and textual sources for this key life stage, it describes the scientific, educational, medical and emotional aspects of the journey towards motherhood. The first half of the book considers the situation a Roman girl would find herself in when it came to preparing for children. Sources document the elementary sexual education offered at the time, and society's knowledge of reproductive health. We see how Roman women had recourse to medical advice, but also turned to religion and magic in their preparations for childbirth. The second half of the book follows the different stages of pregnancy and labour. As well as the often-documented examples of joyous expectation and realisation of progeny, there are also family tragedies – young girls dying prematurely, stillbirth, death in childbirth, and death during confinement. Finally, the book considers the social change that childbirth wrought on the mother, not just the new baby – in many ways it was also a mother who was in the process of being conceived and brought into the world. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Illustrations Abbreviations and Editions Acknowledgements Introduction Cursus laborum feminae Romanae Women Mothers In statu nascendi The transition from puberty to motherhood: Women’s reproductive health The premise Sources Limitations and expectations: A summary 1 Marriage: The Institution that Makes One a Mother Liberorum procreandorum causa Does everyone want to have children? 2 Women Preparing to Be Mothers Menstruation Roman girls’ sex education Those who died young: ‘wed to death’ Fertility issues Fertility and the gods 3 Specialized Care for the Would-be Mother Medicae Obstetrices Obstetrix et medica – or, obstetrix id est medica ? Why not a man-physician? 4 Pregnancy and Its Course Symptoms of pregnancy Boy or girl? The course of a normal pregnancy: Advice given to the pregnant Unusual pregnancies Miscarriage Male violence and the death of pregnant women ‘The lucky have children in three months' Pregnancy in the light of visual sources 5 Parturition Symptoms of the onset of labour Normal labour Closely monitored labour Inducing labour and pain relief Abnormal labour Death in childbirth and the postpartum period Divine protection during childbirth 6 Dies lustricus: The Birth of . . . a Mother? Caring for a woman in puerperium Caring for a newborn: Fashioning a human being The social birth of the child – and the mother Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index