For the Father of a Newborn: Soviet Obstetrics and the Mobilization of Men as Medical Allies

Authors

Amy E. Randall, Santa Clara UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1-2021

Publisher

Berghahn Journals

Abstract

This article introduces the translated pamphlet For the Father of a Newborn by contextualizing it in Soviet medical eff orts to deploy men as allies in safeguarding reproduction and bolstering procreation in the 1960s and 1970s. It examines the pamphlet as an illustration of how doctors and other health personnel tried to educate men to protect their wives’ pregnancy and the health of their wives and newborns in the postpartum period, and it considers the implications of these initiatives for women’s bodies, gender norms, sexual practices, models of masculinity, and the socialist goal of promoting women’s equality.

Comments

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recommended Citation

Randall, A. E. (2021). For the Father of a Newborn: Soviet Obstetrics and the Mobilization of Men as Medical Allies. Aspasia, 15(1), 146–164. https://doi.org/10.3167/asp.2021.150110