Manikins and models by Angelique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray (French ,1712-1790) , the “King’s Midwife”. Madame Du Coudray’s "machine", a mannequin for teaching obstetrics, was invented in the 18th century by a midwife determined to combat the ignorance of country midwives who endangered the lives of women and children. Madame Du Coudray spent twenty-five years travelling the towns and citi es of France, teaching her methods and selling her ingenious "machines". The only surviving example of the "machine", patented in 1778, is on display in the Museum of Flaubert and the History of Medicine, in Rouen. It includes a life-size mannequin representing the lower part of the female body, a doll the size of a newborn baby, and various accessories demonstrating female anatomy, a seven-month fœtus, twins etc Among the many accessories to show the different phases of pregnancy is the representation of a matrix and a fetus of seven months. T...
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