2025/08/11 by Fäs, Sophie
#19th century #Austria #Fricktal #Habsburg Monarchy #health reform #midwifery #midwives #obstetrics
paper · doi:10.25365/adv.2025.10.9364
This article is a continuation of the article «Frau Holliger könne Hebamme sein, aber soll von Doktor Häggy nichts lernen» also found in this volume, which deals with the Habsburg midwifery reforms introduced in Fricktal in 1770. Due to their unpopularity these reforms had a difficult start in Fricktal, then part of Further Austria, increasingly losing their effect by the end of the century. When this area on the left bank of the Rhine became part of the Swiss canton of Aargau in 1803, the new government saw a great need to reform the midwifery system. According to the public health department most midwives in the new canton were inadequately trained and would therefore pose a danger to women giving birth and their newborn babies. For this reason, midwifery training reforms were deemed necessary. This article examines how the authorities of Aargau wanted to improve training, how the reforms were implemented within the framework of the new government’s structure and what measures they offered to deal with resistant communities and unlicensed midwives. Finally, a discussion is provided on how the population of Fricktal reacted to the new midwifery ordinance.