How did midwives deliver women in the past? What was their understanding of anatomy and physiology? How did they cope with unnatural presentations, haemorrhage, miscarriage and stillbirths, constipation? Were lives being prolonged and risks diminished? Midwifery case notes offer a considerable source of evidence, which, when used with care and imagination, help to tackle these questions. Mrs Stone & Dr Smellie demonstrates this in a fascinating way by analysing the work of two well-known midwives. Sarah Stone's A Complete Practice of Midwifery was published in London in 1737. Mrs Stone had...