History of Pregnancy in Christianity

Anne Stensvold is Professor of History of Religions at the University of Oslo, Norway. She has written extensively on popular religion and religious change and is the editor of Western Balkans: The Religious Dimension (2009).

• Introduction. Part I. Beginnings. 1. Conceptualising Pregnancy. 2. Patterns of Meaning. 3. Christian Procreation According to Augustine. 4. Pregnancy and Abortion in Medieval Society. 5. Exceptional Bodies. Part II. The Enlightenment. 6. Reformation. 7. Theories of Procreation. 8. Varieties of Scientific Truth. Part III. Modernity. 9. The Female Egg and Medical Inventions. 10. The Divine Conception. 11. Fertility Under Debate. Part IV. Contemporary Debates. 12. Women and the Virgin in the 20th Century. 13. Legal Abortion. 14. Foetus or Child. 15. Objectification. Afterthoughts. Index. Bibliography.

"This book fills a gap in the current cultural historical literature on pregnancy….It paints the big picture from late antiquity to the modern period."Neil Pembroke, University of Queensland, Australia "This work is an important contribution to the current debate about human procreation, fertility and female reproductive autonomy. Combining sources from theological anthropology, legal documents and medical practices, from Antiquity to our time, Anne Stensvold demonstrates how doctrinal concepts are influenced by historically varying biological theories. Her work clarifies how religion and culture interact to shape Western ideas about contraception, pregnancy, abortion and childbirth."Kari Elisabeth Børresen, University of Oslo, Norway