Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray

Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray She was born in France in 1714, a period that generally did not leave much room for female initiative.

Medicine was strictly a male domain, and childbirth was a very dangerous event, often underestimated and left to the improvisation of completely untrained people.

Coincidentally, mothers and newborns were dying in droves. And it was considered normal.

In this context Angélique He started working very young as an assistant to a famous “midwife” Parisian, and after many years of practice she obtained an official certificate attesting to her skills and soon became one of the most famous midwives in Paris.

TRAVELING TRAINING

Her reputation earned her the task, received directly from King Louis XV, to travel around France with the aim of training other qualified midwives., especially in the countryside and in towns, in order to reduce the very high mortality rates during childbirth.

He began his courses in 1760 in Clermont-Ferrand, then began to travel by carriage, often on rough roads, throughout France for about 25 years, a solid vocation that never lost its vigor.

The courses lasted about two months for each group of students. It's difficult to calculate how many students attended the courses in total, but it's estimated there were around 5.000. It's known for certain that she also trained many doctors.

AN INNOVATIVE TRAINING METHOD

The course developed by Angélique It combined theory and practice, with the aim of drastically reducing mortality and obstetric complications during childbirth.

A completely new course, largely focused on practical aspects, to explain childbirth in the simplest way possible.

To achieve this result through simulation, he designed an obstetric mannequin called “Machine“This tool, made of fabric and anatomical details, allowed students to virtually practice childbirth techniques, allowing preparation in the absence of real cases.

It was a birthing dummy, made of fabric, leather, and padding, which could simulate various obstetric situations. Thanks to this dummy, the students could learn hands-on, without putting the lives of any real women at risk.

A revolutionary insight. No one had ever thought that childbirth could be taught in a practical and repeatable way.

In practice the first application VR in the field of training.

 A HISTORICAL HERITAGE

Her work helped to drastically reduce mortality during childbirth in many regions of France.

During his travels Angélique I always advocated for the opening of real maternity services.

Her innovative method, using the obstetric mannequin, laid the foundation for safer and more professional healthcare education, making a decisive contribution to the modernization of obstetrics and likely saving thousands of lives. For every student trained, a life was perhaps saved.

In 1773 he gathered all his experience in a manual clear and richly illustrated: Abrégé de l'Art des Accouchements — Compendium of the art of childbirth.

A book designed not so much for doctors, but for the women on the front lines when a life is born.

She died almost forgotten in 1789, but her work was taken up by her niece, Marguerite Guillaumanche, whom she herself had trained from the age of 13.

 

Angélique du Coudray, l'art de l'accouchement – ​​Culture Prime

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