Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers (Contemporary Classics)

The authors really said a lot in this short little booklet. They pose a clear correlation between midwifery, the witch hunt movement, women’s suppression and exclusion from the health care field, and the rise of the current patriarchal, male-dominated medical system. They also explain how women healers have always played a part in shaping the history of medicine, but their role has been trivialized and diminished in the power struggle with male doctors. It’s an excellent read for anyone pursuing a career in medicine or anyone interested in the institutionalized sexism of the health care industry.

I read this book in three hours and could hardly put it down. I saw it mentioned on the internet and decided to buy it, and honestly it was an amazing and much needed perspective. If you want a more honest glimpse into the past of how the medical field developed and women's important role in it, this is the book for you. They even have their sources in the back. It's just barely 100 pages, easy read, and I find its contents to be invaluable to getting the full picture on how witch hunts directly related to women's oppression in a way that most historical texts never discuss.

This short story shares many interesting beginnings of modern medicine. I think it is an easy, informative read. I only gave 4 stars because some of the content is outdated. But I should mention it was first written in the early 70's. I do highly recommend you read this if you are interested in any way in medicine.

This book was a text for a course . The text explores ancient female medical knowledge and the development of the corporate\ industrial male dominated medical system. There is a examination of class,race and interrelationships playing a role in our present lack of accessibility of health care to all individuals in the global healthcare arena. In addition ,the concerns explored in the text touched upon the importance of environmental issues and the undermining of preventive care\self-care approaches in our present day global healthcare system. The title Witch Midwife Nurses leads the reader through the dismantling of female medical knowledge \expertise to our present day attempt to control females and their independence.

This is the third time I have come across this book, which is my current read. The first time was a couple of decades ago in hints and whispers, quoted within other books. The second time was a photocopied version I acquired from a freedom of information gathering within an anarchy collective. This is an amazing study. I was inspired to take personal authority over my own body. Read it!

The Bibliography was better than the narrative. There were no source footnotes and it seemed the narrative summarized unfounded information. More specifics about witches and the sources would bring credibility to the book. Some of the assertions seemed exaggerated when the author claimed that increasing educational requirements for doctors was planned to relegate women to nursing. There is no doubt that male chauvinism existed, then as now. Most doctors went into medicine to do good, although some believe they are superior creatures to do that good. As a registered nurse, I know from life experience that women often went into nursing in order to more quickly earn a living and have a family. As medical science made rapid advances, more intensive study was and is required to keep any medical practitioner up to date. Nurse midwives in rural and urban areas simply could not have access to new information. Nurses have the option to go to medical school or to become nurse practitioners. There are varied ways for nurses to have a family and a career in health care. I would like to read some of the books listed in the bibliography to see the actual source of information.

I am torn between giving this a 4 or a 5 - in a way I would consider this work to be an essay opposed to a "book". What I thought was fascinating: First - the background of the authors (!). Apparently they brought women's studies to women in the 1960's via these pamphlets and talks given in libraries, etc.(never heard of this movement - I really must applaud them.) That alone shows just how far women have come since the 1960's, and is frightening when truly considered. As recently as that point in time, women's bodies had become a foreign territory to be deciphered by the medical establishment regarding fertility, reproduction and functionality. That is really what this book is about as an overview... The starting point of this book maps out how the medical profession began with women in the very primary role as natural healers (witches. Over time the natural healers began to get pushed to the side by men (or the establishment)- practitioners who took the more "scientific approach" of blood-letting and leaches. I know who I would rather go to!!! Also, the book/essay touches upon some of the select few women who did attend medical school. Those select women (although ostracized by their male counterparts) quickly joined "the ranks" of a fairly closed-door society of the medical "elite". Midwives (once again a very necessary and useful service) were then seen as a threat and marginalized, is not made illegal. Until the mid to late 1800's Medical practices and standards were up for debate - and the way the book portrays the chronology points to money closing ranks, pulling together to protect the privileged (capitalism) to the exclusion of others - often the poor but bright, midwives, people of color etc. I agree with the premise that even today money controls, while values and beneficial practices can suffer. In short - Witches Midwives & Nurses got me thinking. Now that I have written this review - I am giving it a 5 star rating. Literature that introduces new ideas or provides thought-provoking accounts serves it purpose well.

Women have always been the healers. What a shame what the Rockefellers did too the women healers.

J’ai acheté ce livre dans l’espoir qu’il m’inspire pour écrire mon mémoire de fin d’étude en soins infirmiers. J’ai été transporter à travers ma lecture, et j’ai appris beaucoup de chose. Ça n’a pas été du goût de mon directeur de mémoire, mais je prends un plaisir à le lire encore et encore.

LOVE LOVE LOVE - this is a great and short read packed of info. Highly recommend, I borrowed it from the library first but had to own a copy

Loved this. Gave a good history of women as healers and how they were perceived in a male dominated area ( medicine) as witches and crones from those that controlled the confines of medicine .... loved it!! Great little read

Wer sich für dieses Thema interessiert, bzw. sich einen gewissen Überblick darüber verschaffen möchte, kann bei diesem Buch nicht viel falsch machen. Es ist interessant geschrieben, schwafelt nicht um den heißen Brei herum und lässt sich im Englischen angenehm lesen.

Tenía pendiente su lectura. Es cortito y hace una pasada por la historia feminista centrándose en la medicina, cuestiones de la inquisición...