Reproduction and Its Discontents in Mexico

“Readers will appreciate Nora Jaffary’s clear, eloquent and sophisticated prose, as well as her impressively thorough searches in multiple and often unyielding data sets.”—Journal of Latin American Studies

“Presents significant archival material that shows the immense importance of the Nahua midwives, as well as historical records that reveal the struggle that all Mexican women faced to control their bodies.”—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“Challenges traditional narratives of Mexican history through a careful study of the development of obstetrical practices from 1750-1905.”—Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

“A truly remarkable—and timely—accomplishment. With grace, sensitivity, and even poetry, Nora E. Jaffary takes a comprehensive approach to the history of reproduction in Mexico. Straddling the colonial and independent eras, Jaffary shifts the lens beyond Mexico City and unearths in the archival records an elusive theme and well-hidden realities in Mexico’s history. She adds a new dimension to medical history by demonstrating how sex, birth control, pregnancy, birth, and reproductive abnormalities have been subject to shifting understandings over a century and a half of Mexican history.”—Heather McCrea, Kansas State University

“In Nora E. Jaffary’s unique book, the history of reproduction in Mexico is finally given the attention it deserves. More than a history of medicine, Reproduction and Its Discontents in Mexico looks at the connections between the private aspects of female lives and their connections to the public sphere. It is a significant contribution not only to Mexican and Latin American history but also to medical history and the history of reproduction and female reproductive health. Rich and nuanced in analysis and such a pleasure to read.”—Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, Carleton University