Femmes des lumières : Utérus expulsif ou utérus convulsif deux visages de la médecine des femmes

In the 18 t h century, is there still such a thing as women's medicine, as faithfully transmitted by the antique tradition through the corpus of Hippocratic writings and, above all, since Soranos of Ephesus' memorable work? It is certainly possible to give a positive answer to the question if one considers the major place occupied by discourses on gestation and giving birth during the whole of the period. Yet it is also possible, here and there, to pick up elements which break with tradition and lead one to believe that such practises are subject to consideration or even to new rules. Doctors and even surgeons, more familiar with practical activities, manifest little interest for obstetrics and gynaecology considered to be best left to women. From generation to generation, matrons, as they were called at the time, passed on uncertain knowledge which mixed efficient actions and appropriate manipulations with rituals harking back to magical traditions. However, a few doctors, who set a precedent, committed themselves resolutely to the study of the mechanisms of gestation, created instruments to assist at birth and reflected on the most frequent pathologies.