Motherhood in the Old South

by McMillen, Sally G.

• ISBN13: 9780807121665
• ISBN10: 0807121665
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-05-01
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr

Summary

Sally G. McMillen has written an enthralling account of the childbearing and rearing responsibilities that consumed, often literally, the lives of women in the Old South. She explores the social, political, and medical influences of the time that led women to assume fervently the full responsibility for their "sacred occupation" and examines how a woman's maternal role ensured her value within the family and the greater society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix	(4)
Manuscript Repositories	xiii
Introduction	1	(6)
1 To Physicke and Comfort: The Antebellum Medical Profession	7	(17)
2 In a Delicate Way: Pregnancy	24	(33)
3 To Alleviate Her Anxieties: Assistance During Labor	57	(22)
4 In Sorrow Does She Bring Forth: Medical Concerns of Childbirth	79	(32)
5 So Sweet an Office: Material Breast-Feeding	111	(24)
6 Sources of Comfort and Double Anxiety: Infant Illness and Maternal Care	135	(30)
7 Their Sorrowing Hearts: Infant Mortality and Maternal Bereavement	165	(15)
Conclusion	180	(9)
Appendix One: Tables	189	(8)
Appendix Two: Southern Women and Their Families	197	(20)
Glossary	217	(4)
Selected Sources	221	(2)
Index	233