Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages (Hardback)

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Pen & Sword History titles never fail to delight me. There’s always a topic among them that I’d never have thought of exploring on my own, yet once I dive in, it rewards me with a wealth of fascinating new information.
This book on royal childbirth in the Middle Ages is an excellent example. The author follows a clear structure, starting with conception and proceeding logically from there. She covers general facts and then adds countless details and specific examples of individual medieval royal ladies.
This highly readable book will enrich anyone with a love for royal history.

NetGalley, Magdalena Šejdová

I found this book to be really well researched, as well as being pretty easy to follow along with. I found a deeper appreciation for medieval women and what they had to go through to have a child. If you want to learn more about medieval childbirth practices pertaining to the higher echelons of society, I would recommend you read “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth” by Michele Schindler.

NetGalley, Heidi Malagisi

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages is a fascinating and eye-opening look at how women handled pregnancy and childbirth in the medieval period. It debunks a lot of myths and provides a deeper understanding of medieval medical practices.

We tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dirty time, with little effort at personal hygiene. But the written sources on childbirth emphasize cleanliness in preparations for birth. I found the level of preparation before birth fascinating. Also, women gave birth in a special chair rather than lying down in bed, so medieval midwives were ahead of their time in that respect. Michele Schindler's research into noble naming patterns and household records provides insight into the fertility of certain noblewomen who were assumed to have fertility issues, suggesting these women may have had more pregnancies or births than previously thought (miscarriages, stillbirths, and children who died shortly after birth didn't always make it into historical records).

Schindler has done some really great research into a topic that doesn't receive enough attention. I found this book really interesting and would recommend it to anyone who's interested in women's history.

NetGalley, Etta Kavanagh

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The author dispels myths surrounding all aspects of Middle Ages life as it relates to conception and childbirth. Sometimes the myths linger when they shouldn't. I especially enjoyed how easy it was to read this book and the topic never became stale.

It's important in my view to read about that study history in all its aspects because that's how we learn to appreciate our world today. We need to look back in order to look forward.

NetGalley, Janine Skavnak