French plural of accoucheuse; female midwives or women who assist in childbirth.
From French accoucheuse, derived from accoucher meaning 'to give birth,' from Old French a- (to) + couche (bed). The term became specialized in medical contexts to denote trained birth attendants, particularly in 18th-19th century France.
During the 18th century, French-trained accoucheuses revolutionized childbirth by bringing scientific knowledge to midwifery, challenging the dominance of untrained birth attendants across Europe and eventually influencing modern obstetrics.
Plural of accoucheuse; reflects the gendered language structure that marked female practitioners as secondary to male accoucheurs.
Use 'midwives' or 'birth attendants' in modern contexts rather than the gendered French term.
["midwives","birth attendants","obstetric practitioners"]
Accoucheuses collectively represented the female knowledge-holders pushed to the margins as male-led professionalization took over birth-work.
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