Death before Birth - Fetal health and mortality in historical perspective

This is a study of fetal health from the seventeenth century to the present day. It is the first book to offer a historical perspective on the subject and to combine both medical history and epidemiological and demographic research, using long-term and comparative perspectives, including a strong international comparative element, across both Europe and North America. The book provides an account of how fetal health and the risks facing the unborn (miscarriages, abortions, stillbirths, etc) have changed, but it also offers an interpretation of the causes, one that focuses on the role of obstetrics and the epidemiology of maternal infections.