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Death of Mary Wollstonecraft after childbirth, by William Godwin (1798) | Primary Source Read Along
After his new wife’s premature death in 1797 following the birth of her second and their first child, Mary, William Godwin wrote Memoirs of the Author of The Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1798. Read along with me the final chapter in which he documents the ten days following the birth until her…
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What Did Jane Austen Think About Pregnancy? | Pt 2.1
In part one of this series, I covered the reproductive history and childcare strategies of Jane Austen’s parents. In this part, I will show that Jane’s attitudes about marriage were shaped– not by her desire to become a published author– but by her observations of motherhood, particularly the physiological and psychological changes involved in annual…
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“An Address to Pregnant Females” 1810 | Read Along
Check out An Address to Pregnant Women at the Wellcome Collection
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“An Essay Upon Nursing” 1748 | Primary Source Read Along
This is a read-along of William Cadogan’s letter to the governors of the Foundling Hospital in London, published in 1748. Cadogan doesn’t approve of the way women or old-timey doctors managed infant care because their approaches aren’t natural. He proposes a feeding schedule that would result in malnutrition for any infant: four feedings in twenty-four…
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White Blood: A History of Human Milk | Book Review
“White Blood: A history of human milk– How babies have been fed from antiquity to modern times and why it matters” by Lawrence Trevelyan Weaver, comes out July 30, 2021.
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Jane Austen’s Birth | Pt 1
In my Jane Austen Thinks series, I explore the Austens’ family letters, Jane’s novels, as well as contemporary fashions, scientific developments, and politics in England to get a better understanding of what life was like for growing families in the late 18th and early 19th century; and to get an idea of what Jane Austen…
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Ruth Gordon: A Mellin’s Food Baby
Have you ever seen the cult classic Harold and Maud? How about Rosemary’s Baby? Well, then you’ve seen Ruth Gordon! But what does she have to do with baby history? This article is not about the spawn of Satan but it’s arguably still pretty evil. About Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon was born in Massachusetts in…
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Baby Boxes, Useless Newborns, Human Milk, Forced Sterilizations, Essure, SMA, Baby Teeth |Rabbit Holes Ep7
Rabbit Holes is the semi-regular reaction-style series where I share baby-related news or media that I think you’d be interested in. So without further ado… Table of Contents Safe Haven Baby Drop Boxes On March 9th 2021, Brooke Hasch reported for an ABC affiliate that Kentucky could be the next stop for Safe Haven Baby…
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“Pornographic” Diaper Commercials? c.1985
In March of 1985, Women Against Pornography, eh-hem, WAPs, awarded Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Huggies, a Plastic Pig (also known as a “zap”) for their diaper commercials because the WAPs found them provocative, even pornographic— which says a lot about the WAPs and the kind of watch list its members should be on. WAP WAP…
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Killer Gender Reveals, Other Cultures, Childcare, Contaminated Baby Food, Fetal Mummies | Rabbit Holes 6
Rabbit Holes is a semi-regular reaction-style series about the baby-related stories I’ve found interesting and think you’ll find interesting too. Table of Contents Killer Gender Reveal A gender reveal IED killed a second father-to-be in February. Keep in mind that Darwin Awards are only for people who cause their own accidental deaths before they’ve reproduced.…
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