Medicine Women: The Story of Early-American Women Doctors - Hardcover

Luchetti, Cathy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517598485 ISBN 13: 9780517598481

Publisher: Crown, 1998

Synopsis

The story of women in medicine is multi- fold, from their ascendency as healers and midwives in the early years of American Colonialism to their gradual decline as they were eclipsed by men, whose entrance into the medical ranks brought new standards of exclusionary professionalism. All-male medical schools, state medical boards, and licensing pushed "healing" women into the subcategory of midwife or nurse.
        
Nineteenth-century women retaliated by forming their own colleges, studying independently, and eventually forcing themselves into competition with accepted medical institutions. But these women doctors had a twin burden of prejudice to overcome: first, society's Victorian grudge against any woman who wished to snap the bonds of domesticity and become a professional; and, also, the basic distrust of a rural population for medicine. Women had to win the confidence of female patients before launching into feminist encouragement, advocating fresh air, exercise, and uncorseted clothing. The discreet balance of power between physician and patient hung in delicate balance, either tipped toward female competition or stirred into a level of feminine support.
        
Understanding the stories of these medical pioneers--their motivations, hardships, and conflicts--assigns a human face to otherwise dry statistics. The early-American female doctor comes vividly to life through her own writings, which have been incorporated into this book. Along with Cathy Luchetti's expert and engaging narrative, and a collection of more than 50 stunning photographs, Medicine Women offers the key to the heart of the rural, frontier doctor.

About this title

Review

Lively, compelling first-person accounts of their work and the often appalling state of medical practice before the 20th century conjure strong scenes of life on the American frontier. As healers and midwives, women were lauded for medical wisdom in the first flush of the American colonies. But the power to dispense medicine was gradually usurped by male physicians. By the Victorian age, midwives--who often knew enough to wash up before a birth, unlike male counterparts who, pooh-poohed germ theory--were denounced as filthy and dangerous or derided as abortionists. The first American women doctors struggled mightily against popular convictions that their sex was too brainless, irrational, and delicate for medical tasks. In the mid-1800s, female students at the medical school at John Hopkins could examine men only from the neck up. The hostility directed at "unnatural" women invading this male realm was palpable, ranging from hissing and curses to outright sabotage. Anna Broomall was mobbed by angry medical students as she attended a surgery clinic in 1869. Recalling this during an interview some years later, she said, "Bless you, boys! Nothing helps a good cause so much as a well-advertised opposition." --Francesca Coltrera

From the Back Cover

Praise for Cathy Luchetti's Women of the West
"A fascinating and moving tribute. . . . An elegant connective narrative and 150 remarkable photographs put some of the last century's history in more realistic perspective."         --Los Angeles Times

"An authentic, refreshing and even inspiring view of life on the frontier."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"Through a combination of historical research, excerpts from pioneer diaries and a remarkable collection of documentary photographs, [the authors] evoke a striking portrait of everyday life among 19th-century women."
--St. Petersburg Times

"Anyone interested in American history should read Women of the West."
--Cleveland Plain Dealer

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0517598485
• ISBN 13: 9780517598481
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256