The Tragedy of Childbed Fever
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Winner of the Medical Book Awards 2000
Childbed fever was by the far the most common cause of deaths associated with childbirth up to World War II throughout Britain and Europe. Otherwise known as puerperal fever, it was an infection which followed childbirth and caused thousands of miserable and agonising deaths every year.Childbed fever was by the far the most common cause of deaths associated with childbirth up to the Second World War throughout Britain and Europe. Otherwise known as puerperal fever, it was an infection which followed childbirth and caused thousands of miserable and agonising deaths every year. This book provides the first comprehensive account of this tragic disease from its recognition in the eighteenth century up to the second half of the twentieth century. Examining this within a broad history of infective diseases, the author goes on to explore ideas from past debates about the nature of infectious diseases and contagion, the discovery of bacteria and antisepsis, and charts the complicated path which led to the discovery of antibiotics. The large majority of deaths from puerperal fever were due to one micro-organism known as Streptococcus pyogenes, and the last chapter presents valuable new ideas on the nature and epidemiology of streptococcal disease up to the present day.
This is a comprehensive study of the challenge of a disease, which raises many questions for a new research agenda before we understand the full tragedy of puerperal fever * Social History of Medicine, Vol.14, No.2 *
provides an illuminating case study of how medical knowledge approached, debated, and reacted to fevers * Social History of Medicine, Vol.14, No.2 *
this is a fine example of medical history and one that is based on an impressive range of research ... the organization of the book into clear and distinct chapters makes it a useful and highly readable reference work for those beginning to research specific pioneers and treatments * Social History of Medicine, Vol.14, No.2 *
a fine overview of the history of puerperal fever * Susan L.Smith, Journal of the History of Medicine, Vol.56, April 2001 *
All the ingredients for a first class monograph are here * John S.G. Blair, BMJ Vol 322, May 2001 *
The revisionist historian is too often a socially correct one, seeking journalistic novelty, but Loudon is the true academic, and medically qualified historian colleagues will enjoy his account. I recommend it to them especially. * John S.G. Blair, BMJ Vol 322, May 2001 *
Loudon ... has exposed the most tragic feature of the story, the stumbling and wholly inadequate efforts well into the twentieth century to cope with a very curable disease. * Constance Putnam, Medical History *
The book is characterized by a thoroughness and patience well worth emulating. * Constance Putnam, Medical History *
Authority is added to the work by the fact that Loudon has spent years researching and explaining maternal mortality more generally ... He is also adept at translating scientific and statistical information, without condescension, for the medical historians most likely to pick up this useful volume. * Constance Putnam, Medical History *
lucidly tells the story of the impact of puerperal fever on society ... clear and entertaining ... fascinating anecdotes ... a wonderful account of the history of medicine and the nature of clinical discovery. * Charles J. Lockwood, Lancet 6/1/01. *
a characteristically expertly researched, humane and beautifully written book ... his is a sobering - indeed, as he says, tragic - story of how those who have put their trust in the medical profession all too often needlessly end up not happy mothers, but corpses. * Roy Porter, New Scientist 26/2/00 *
- Winner of Winner of the Medical Book Awards 2000.
ISBN: 9780198204992
Dimensions: 242mm x 162mm x 19mm
Weight: 512g
252 pages