Mrs Jane Sharp: midwifery and the critique of medical knowledge in seventeenth‐century England

Marketing Midwives in Seventeenth‐Century London: A Re‐examination of Jane Sharp's The Midwives Book

“…Another example of Sharp's supposed challenge to the medical knowledge about women's bodies comes in her discussion of the importance of both kinds of 'seed' (male and female) in procreation. 15 Eve Keller argues that Sharp 'rejects the attendant notion that the female seed is inferior and contributes significantly less to the generation of the child'. 16 The one-seed theory appeared in many male-authored treatises, including William Sermon's The Ladies Companion; or, The English Midwife Enlarged (1671), and Keller compares Sharp's work against these texts.…”

“…15 Eve Keller argues that Sharp 'rejects the attendant notion that the female seed is inferior and contributes significantly less to the generation of the child'. 16 The one-seed theory appeared in many male-authored treatises, including William Sermon's The Ladies Companion; or, The English Midwife Enlarged (1671), and Keller compares Sharp's work against these texts. 17 Indeed, Sermon subscribes more firmly to the idea of a male-dominant seed while Sharp presents a more egalitarian approach to reproduction.…”