Pregnant Women’s Sexuality in Early Modern England

Pregnant women in the past had sex, yet we know nearly nothing about their sexual desires, or what people thought about sex during pregnancy. While there is much research on the sexual maternal body, studies of pregnancy and sex are lacking. This Palgrave Pivot provides the first history of pregnant women’s sexuality in England from 1550 to 1800, with discussion of Northern European perspectives on pregnancy sex. It explores a range of medical literature for descriptions of pregnancy and sexuality, including popular medical and midwifery books, as well as Latin scientific treatises. Alongside these texts, it considers popular culture materials including novels, ballads, pornography, marital guides, and diaries and correspondence. Drawing on methodologies from gender and queer history, the book attempts to locate pregnant women’s articulations of desire in this period. Moreover, the book reveals the paradoxical nature of early modern attitudes to sex and pregnancy: women’s gravid sexuality was portrayed as natural and desirable, but also excessive, potentially dangerous and disruptive to the foetus.