Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Pregnancy
(2,146 words)

1. Definition

Pregnancy denotes the condition of a woman from conception (fusion of sperm [Semen] and egg) to childbirth or premature miscarriage of the embryo. Pregnancy is an anthropological constant, but it has also been subject to marked historical change, which operates between twin poles: the history of the experience of  Schwangergehen (being pregnant) and the legal, intellectual, and technological history of the unborn child [9]. The history of pr…

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Weikl, Katharina, “Pregnancy”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 02 October 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_027270>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20210107



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