pregnancy – Mistaking histories

Bad History, internet, outreach, pregnancy, teaching

Getting the story out

August 28, 2023August 25, 2023 fluff35

Over the past few days I've been linking to some short pieces I have written for The Conversation UK. I'm a fan of this platform, and not just because of the extraordinary number of 'reads' one gets - although those are impressive. Of course, these are really hits rather than reads, and many who click… Continue reading Getting the story out

birth, midwives, pregnancy

Pregnancy tests (from The Conversation UK)

August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 fluff35

A brief history of pregnancy tests – from toads and rabbits to rosewater Helen King, The Open University Today, knowing if you are pregnant is usually straightforward – you pee on a stick and then wait for the lines to appear. Tests for women to use themselves at home were first marketed in the 1960s. They… Continue reading Pregnancy tests (from The Conversation UK)

birth, death, God, monuments, pregnancy

The histories of miscarriage and stillbirth

May 28, 2019 fluff35

Three children who died too young: what can they tell us about how we frame and then answer our questions about the past?

birth, museums and collections, pregnancy, religion, womb

Wombs and blogging

January 8, 2018January 5, 2018 fluff35

Why should academics blog?

Bad History, doctors, drugs, Hippocrates, menstruation, pregnancy, sex, womb

IUD or not IUD? Did the Hippocratics invent the first intrauterine device?

July 18, 2017August 9, 2017 fluff35

"Around 400 B.C., writers from the Hippocrates school discussed a contraceptive similar to the intrauterine device (IUD) of today. This particular apparatus was a hollow tube filled with mutton-fat..." Really??