Changes

As fields of inquiry, obstetrics and gynecology have a relatively short history. While obstetrics and gynecology have been practiced since time immemorial, their shift from women-centered knowledge and common sense practices to science began in the 19th century. Before the 19th century, much of the knowledge of childbirth and delivery was passed through women, kin, and midwives. As medicine became an organized profession in the 19th century, much of its early history revolved around consolidating that knowledge into medical men’s hands.<ref>Pablo Mitchell, ''Coyote Nation: Sexuality, Race, and Conquest in Modernizing New Mexico, 1880-1920'' (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005), p. 122-148.</ref>