Pink Collar Workers: Angélique du Coudray

Angélique du Coudray (1712-1794) transformed the practice of midwifery in eighteenth century France. Her work was so invaluable that the king of France himself recognized her contributions and funded her teaching. 

This month, we’re bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed! We’ll be talking about Pink Collar Workers: women who revolutionized jobs that have traditionally been called "women's work." Through their lives, they created a more just and humane world for us today.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This August, we're bringing back some of our
favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. All month will
be talking about pink collar workers. These women revolutionized jobs
that have traditionally been called women's work. Through their lives,
they created a more just and humane world for us today.

(00:21):
With that, here's one of our favorite episodes. Hello from
Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
This month, we're talking about women who've made important contributions
to the world of health and wellness. Today we're talking

(00:41):
about a woman who transformed the practice of midwifery in
eighteenth century France. Her work was so invaluable that the
King of France himself recognized her contributions and funded her teaching.
Let's talk about Angelique dou Coudre. Angelique was born in

(01:04):
Claremont Ferrand, a city in France. In seventeen twelve. She
trained as a midwife in Paris at the Hotel d'ieu school,
and in seventeen forty, after a three year apprenticeship program,
she was licensed as a midwife. At the time, many
male surgeons were trying to push female midwives out of
the profession, but Angelique and her peers fought back. They

(01:29):
circulated petitions that would ensure that women would be allowed
to keep attending educational institutions where they could train to
be birth workers. Eventually, Angelique became the head midwife at
the Hotel d'ieu school in Paris, where fifteen hundred babies
were born every year. Then one day, a nobleman arrived

(01:49):
in Paris from Auvergna, a rural area in France. His
region was filled with improperly trained midwives who prioritized speedy
deliveries over safe ones. Sometimes they would tell women in
labor to jump up and down, or they'd give them
herbal remedies that would make the pregnant women vomit. Their
methods were causing an increasing number of still births, so

(02:12):
in seventeen fifty one, after more than a decade of
being a midwife in Paris, Angelique moved to Avigna to help.
She realized that the midwives needed a way to practice
delivering a child, so she built a birthing mannequin, an
elaborate trud to scale model made of dyed fabric, leather,
wood wicker and real pelvic bones. The mannequin had a

(02:36):
birth canal that stretched like an actual one, and sponges
that spurted dyed liquids simulating blood and amniotic fluid. Angelique
was one of the first people to ever invent a
life sized birthing mannequin. She called the intricate invention her machine.
Angelique also made a stuffed newborn that midwives and training

(02:56):
would have to pull out of the berthing mannequin. It
was attached to the mannequin via a fabric umbilical cord.
It even had a mouth so that midwives could practice
sticking their hands into it, a technique used for delivering
babies were being birthed feet first. Angelique's machine was so
influential in teaching midwives that the Academy of Surgery gave

(03:17):
it a Seal of Approval, an honor that was especially
rare for a woman to receive. But Angelique didn't stop there.
She also wrote a textbook titled Abstract of the Art
of Childbirth. The textbook contained information on reproductive organs in
their processes, prenatal care, and detailed instructions on how to

(03:37):
handle any complication that a midwife might encounter. Because Angelique
knew that many midwives in the area were illiterate. The
textbook also contained detailed color illustrations. She made sure the
book was small enough to be carried around in an
apron so midwives could bring it with them to consult
during deliveries. Angelique's methods ensured that midway the wives she

(04:00):
trained would be taught quickly and effectively. She could train
women with no knowledge of childbirth on how to be
a midwife in just three months. Surgeons across the country
started taking notice as Angelique started building more birthing mannequins.
Surgeons from different cities came to learn the inner workings
of the machine from Angelique. Then they'd take the machine

(04:23):
back to their city to train the midwives who worked there.
In seventeen fifty nine, Angelique's teachings had grown so influential
that King Louis the fifteenth commissioned her to teach midwife
for all across France. She went on to do that
for more than twenty years, and she's estimated to have
trained two thirds of French midwives at the time. Angelique

(04:48):
died on April seventeenth, seventeen ninety four. She ensured that
thousands of babies were delivered safely, and her work underscored
the importance of female midwives today. One of Angelique's machines
is still on display in the museum in France. Thanks

(05:11):
for listening to this best of episodeable Manica. For more information,
find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast Special
thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator,
join us tomorrow for another one of our favorite episodes,
honoring pink collar workers. Talk to you then,