Practices and Social Relations of Obstetrical Objects

"Curving the Pelvis: The Sociomaterial Practices of André Levret's Curved Forceps"
By: Scottie Hale Buehler, Insitute for Historical Studies, University of Texas at Austin
 
 
In 1747, André Levret presented his newly invented curved obstetrical forceps to the Académie Royale de Chirurgie. He claimed they would save more lives and were more humane than other forceps because they conformed to the maternal body, at least if they were used properly. In this work-in-progress paper, Scottie explores the sociomaterial practices that produced Levret's curved pelvis and forceps.
 
 
Scottie Buehler is a midwife turned historian of medicine. She earned her PhD in the history of science, technology, and medicine from UCLA in 2020. Currently, she is adapting her dissertation into a book, tentatively titled Being and Becoming a Midwife in the French Atlantic 1750-1820. It explores local negations around the widespread implementation of midwifery training courses across the French Atlantic.