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Volume 11
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10.3390/healthcare11212835
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Review

The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries

by
Blanca Espina-Jerez
1,2,*,
Ana María Aguiar-Frías
3,
José Siles-González
1,
Aliete Cunha-Oliveira
4,5 and
Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino
2,4,6,*
1
Department of Nursing, University of Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, Spain
2
ENDOCU Research Group (Nursing, Pain and Care), University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
3
S. João de Deus Higher School of Nursing, University of Évora, Largo do Sr. da Pobreza 2B, 7000-811 Évora, Portugal
4
Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC), 3004-011 Coimbra, Portugal
5
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CEIS20), University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
6
Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing, Toledo Campus, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Healthcare 2023, 11(21), 2835; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212835
Submission received: 22 August 2023 / Revised: 20 October 2023 / Accepted: 24 October 2023 / Published: 27 October 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Midwifery, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences)
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Abstract

(1) Background: The role of Al-Andalus’s women were the result of Arabization and Islamization in Spain. The 10th to the 14th centuries were a time of significant cultural diversity in the region. Female physicians and midwives were important for providing care to women. Despite existing studies, there is still a lack of focused research on the professionalization of these trades, including their requirements, intervention areas, and treatments. (2) Methods: To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review using the dialectical structural model of care (DSMC). Primary medical and legislative sources were used. (3) Results: two kinds of midwife, or qābila, were discovered, along with a woman physician, or ṭabība, who also acted as a midwife. These professions underwent diverse training and fulfilled duties as obstetricians and pediatricians. Midwives were esteemed members of society and were the sole female professionals who needed qualified training. Their performance in the courts was exemplary. Tools for facilitating childbirth and interventions related to female health were discovered in the study. (4) Conclusions: The patriarchal societies suffer from significant inequality in terms of academic training, knowledge transmission, and healthcare provision. Midwives functioned in segregated domestic and legal spaces and were responsible for providing public care to communities from the 10th to 14th centuries.
Keywords: history of nursing; midwifery; women physicians; gender; cultural diversity; transcultural nursing; health; sexuality history of nursing; midwifery; women physicians; gender; cultural diversity; transcultural nursing; health; sexuality

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MDPI and ACS Style

Espina-Jerez, B.; Aguiar-Frías, A.M.; Siles-González, J.; Cunha-Oliveira, A.; Gómez-Cantarino, S. The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2835. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212835

AMA Style

Espina-Jerez B, Aguiar-Frías AM, Siles-González J, Cunha-Oliveira A, Gómez-Cantarino S. The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries. Healthcare. 2023; 11(21):2835. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212835

Chicago/Turabian Style

Espina-Jerez, Blanca, Ana María Aguiar-Frías, José Siles-González, Aliete Cunha-Oliveira, and Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino. 2023. "The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries" Healthcare 11, no. 21: 2835. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212835

APA Style

Espina-Jerez, B., Aguiar-Frías, A. M., Siles-González, J., Cunha-Oliveira, A., & Gómez-Cantarino, S. (2023). The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries. Healthcare, 11(21), 2835. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212835

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