Circulation of scientific knowledge in the transatlantic space and the birth of Peruvian obstetrics (19th century)

Abstract

This article traces the construction of Peruvian obstetric science. It was born in the Age of Enlightenment in the context of circulation of ideas and medical knowledge from Europe. This framework, adapted to the Peruvian reality, was the basis for the state and doctors to occupy a space that was until then private and female. In this way, the first maternity ward in the Hispanic world was founded in Lima in 1826, associating a delivery training center with a hospital. New professional midwifes were trained there, with the mission to end the “barbaric” customs of the Andean and Amazonian populations. Obstetrics was thus a space of biopolitics.