Histoire de la naissance

Born Yesterday

Call for papers



Nottingham UK 

September 5-6, 2019

Please join us in Nottingham this September for the ‘Born Yesterday’ conference, an interdisciplinary conference welcoming abstracts covering all historic and contemporary aspects of childbearing and child rearing. Held in conjunction with De Partu, History of Childbirth and Midwifery Research Group.

Topics are expected to include, but not be limited to, the following subject areas:

• History: investigations into witchcraft; bastardy; contraception; the framing of childbirth in the hospital and the home; free-birthing; parenthood; the changing role of doctors, midwives and carers; the history of birth in local, national and international contexts
• Medicine: insights into birth trends, the rise of obstetrics, fertility, infertility, assisted fertility, miscarriage, abnormalities, still-birth
• Art History: the varied depiction of childbirth, parenting and reproduction across the ages
• Literature and Anthropology: literary representations of midwives, births, babies, mothers and fathers in different socio-cultural spheres, as well as within different historical periods
• Linguistics and Discourse Analysis: analysis of texts and discourses surrounding childbirth, maternity and midwifery
• Social Policy: analysis of maternity services and policy and its impact on women's choice; the changing role of the midwife and obstetricians; suggestions for new ways forward; issues surrounding criminality and punishment as they relate to childbirth and maternity care
• Sociology and Feminist Studies: social constructs of motherhood across the ages; attitudes to unlawful pregnancy, parenthood and surrogacy; debates surrounding single and same-sex parenthood; the exploration of BME and mixed race birth and parenting experiences
• Midwifery: the role and reputation of midwives across the ages, and in different cultural spheres; analysis of regulation and professionalization; solutions to infant mortality; ideas of acceptable risk; fluctuating concepts of ‘normal’ birth; the importance of choice

We are pleased to announce the following have kindly agreed to give keynote talks:
Julia Allison, Honorary Professor of Midwifery and Vice President of the Royal College of Midwives (The University of Nottingham)
Laura King, Associate Professor of History (The University of Leeds)
Tania McIntosh, Principal Lecturer of Midwifery (The University of Brighton)



Abstract Deadline: February 28, 2019
​Conference e-mail address: bornyesterday2019@gmail.com

Conference URL: https://bornyesterday2019.weebly.com


The Conference Organisers:
Kim Russell (Chair), Associate Professor of Midwifery
Anna Greenwood, Associate Professor of History and Co-Director of Health Humanities
Richard J. Whitt, Assistant Professor of Linguistics
Julia Allison, Honorary Professor of Midwifery and Vice President of the Royal College of Midwives