{"product_id":"colonial-modernities-ambalika-guha-9781138221918","title":"Colonial Modernities: Midwifery in Bengal, c.1860-1947","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe subject of medicalisation of childbirth in colonial India has so far been identified with three major themes: the attempt to reform or 'sanitise' the site of birthing practices, establishing lying-in hospitals and replacing traditional birth attendants with trained midwives and qualified female doctors.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book, part of the series \u003ci\u003eThe Social History of Health and Medicine in South Asia\u003c\/i\u003e, looks at the interactions between childbirth and\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003emidwifery practices and colonial modernities. Taking eastern India as\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ea case study and related research from other areas, with hard empirical\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003edata from local government bodies, municipal corporations and\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003edistrict boards, it goes beyond the conventional narrative to show\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ehow the late nineteenth-century initiatives to reform birthing practices\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewere essentially a modernist response of the western-educated\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ecolonised middle class to the colonial critique of Indian sociocultural\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ecodes. It provides a perceptive historical analysis of how institutionalisation\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eof midwifery was shaped by the debates on the women's question, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003enationalism and colonial public health policies, all intersecting in\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe interwar years. The study traces the beginning of medicalisation\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eof childbirth, the professionalisation of obstetrics, the agency of male\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003edoctors, inclusion of midwifery as an academic subject in medical colleges\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand consequences of maternal care and infant welfare.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book will greatly interest scholars and researchers in history, social medicine, public policy, gender studies and South Asian studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ambalika Guha\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1138221910\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781138221918\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Routledge India\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/11\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.92lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.56d","brand":"Ambalika Guha","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46372343841023,"sku":"9781138221918","price":180.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_4d6d6ddd-0ff1-413c-8fcb-5f6e6e185ed9.jpg?v=1732725688","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/colonial-modernities-ambalika-guha-9781138221918","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}