Born: A History of Childbirth
Aug 2025 · Bloomsbury Publishing
Ebook
288
Pages
infoThis book will become available on August 28, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
There is a history of humanity that has never been told – overlooked and unrecorded for millennia: the story of how we are born.
Acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes the reader on an epic journey through the stories of women over hundreds of thousands of years. From ancient Mesopotamian birthing practices to the lost contraceptives of Ancient Rome and the strange story of the feminists who fought for the right to forget childbirth, this is a truly sweeping history that explores the competing ideologies and lived realities that have shaped so many lives.
Lucy Inglis charts the battle for control throughout history over reproduction, birth and women's bodies - a fight still raging in many places across the world. With birth rates falling and infant mortality in many societies on the rise once more, this bold and timely book raises vital questions about how we think about motherhood and pregnancy today. Lucy Inglis has spent over a decade researching the history of childbirth, drawing on new and unseen sources from a wide-ranging array of disciplines.
Charting the powerful interests and dedicated scientists that have shaped women's maternal experiences, this is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand how we all came to be here.
Acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes the reader on an epic journey through the stories of women over hundreds of thousands of years. From ancient Mesopotamian birthing practices to the lost contraceptives of Ancient Rome and the strange story of the feminists who fought for the right to forget childbirth, this is a truly sweeping history that explores the competing ideologies and lived realities that have shaped so many lives.
Lucy Inglis charts the battle for control throughout history over reproduction, birth and women's bodies - a fight still raging in many places across the world. With birth rates falling and infant mortality in many societies on the rise once more, this bold and timely book raises vital questions about how we think about motherhood and pregnancy today. Lucy Inglis has spent over a decade researching the history of childbirth, drawing on new and unseen sources from a wide-ranging array of disciplines.
Charting the powerful interests and dedicated scientists that have shaped women's maternal experiences, this is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand how we all came to be here.
About the author
Lucy Inglis is a historian and novelist, a speaker, and occasionally a television presenter and voice in the radio. She is the creator of the Georgian London blog and her book of the same name was shortlisted for the History Today Longman Prize. City of Halves, her first novel for young adults, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Branford Boase award and her second novel, Crow Mountain, was published in 2015. Lucy is also the author of the international bestseller Milk of Paradise. She lives in London.
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