John Maubray facts for kids

John Maubray (1700–1732) was a Scottish doctor who worked in London. He was an early teacher for midwives, who are people trained to help women during childbirth. He wrote an important book called "The Female Physician" in 1724. He also became the chairman of a group called the Charitable Corporation.

Maubray was part of a group of "man midwives" in London. He followed the ideas of a Dutch surgeon named Hendrik van Deventer (1651–1724), whose wife was also a midwife.

John Maubray: A Pioneer Doctor

John Maubray was a doctor who focused on helping women during childbirth. In his time, many people believed that men, with their knowledge of anatomy (the study of the body) and medical tools, could offer better help in difficult births.

His Book: The Female Physician

In his book, "The Female Physician", Maubray shared his thoughts on childbirth. He believed that male doctors, because of their training, could often provide quicker help when a birth was complicated. This was a common idea among some medical professionals back then.

The Sooterkin Idea

Maubray was interested in a very unusual idea called the Sooterkin. This belief suggested that if a pregnant woman spent a lot of time around certain animals, her baby might end up having features similar to those animals.

Maubray even became involved in the strange case of Mary Toft. She claimed to have given birth to rabbits! Maubray, believing in his Sooterkin theory, saw this as proof of his ideas. However, it was later discovered that Mary Toft's claims were not true.

Despite some of his unusual beliefs, Maubray was also quite forward-thinking for his time. He spoke out against the harsh tools sometimes used during childbirth. He also strongly supported the idea of creating special hospitals, called lying-in hospitals, where women could safely give birth. He looked to the Hôtel Dieu in Paris as a good example of such a hospital.