Plural of accoucheur; male doctors or attendants who assist women during childbirth.
From French accoucheur, from accoucher 'to give birth,' from à couche 'to bed.' The French term was adopted into English medical terminology in the 17th-18th centuries.
Before obstetrics became a medical specialty, 'accoucheur' was the fancy French term doctors used to distinguish themselves from midwives—it gave the profession status by using a foreign language, a common pattern in medicine and law.
Plural of accoucheur; same gendered professionalization history. The term's masculine form normalized male dominance in obstetrics.
Use 'obstetricians', 'midwives', or 'birth attendants' in modern contexts to avoid gender assumption.
["obstetricians","midwives","birth attendants","obstetric practitioners"]
Accoucheurs collectively institutionalized male expertise in birth, pushing female midwives into lower status despite their centuries of accumulated knowledge.
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