Lady Science no. 56

How Careful She Must Be: Midwives, Maternal Minds, and Monstrous Births by Sara Ray

Gendered Observation: The Contribution of Women to the Astronomical Diaries by E.L. Meszaros

In this issue, Sara Ray writes about 18th century theories that the thoughts of pregnant women had the power to transform a fetus in utero, theories that ultimately placed responsibility and blame on a mother if the birth was not viable. E.L. Meszaros investigates ways that we can make space for women in the history of ancient astronomy and argues that even acknowledging the possibility of their place in this history can change how we think about the role of women in science more broadly.

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This issue is published in syndication with The New Inquiry.

Image credit: Clay cuneiform tablet. Astronomical Diary, 331BC-330BC. © Trustees of the British Museum | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.