Obstetrics and the Emergence of Women in Mexico's Medical Establishment

La medicina científica was a popular journal read by Mexican doctors at the end of the nineteenth century. Each edition contained articles on the latest research and developments in the profession and also medical news from around the world of potential interest to subscribers. An excerpt from a February 1889 entry noted that Carolina Schultze had recently passed her medical oral exams in France. One of the evaluators acknowledged her obvious skill and "the great service she will perform to society." But the article's focus, and the probable reason for its inclusion in this Mexican journal, quickly turned to whether or not other women could match her talent. The author presumed that she was, in fact, unique. "The female doctor," he said, "neither has been nor is nor ever will be more than an exception, as there are exceptional women in all fields of knowledge, art, science, and literature." Even more suggestive about late nineteenth-century bias were the reasons why he thought that female doctors, if they must exist, should only specialize in the illnesses of women and children: "when women enter into the practice of a profession appropriate only to the strong sex, they are never satisfied with a secondary role and always want to shine in the front row." ¹

Scholars of midwifery, aided by sexist statements from the male medical establishment, frequently emphasize that physicians in the nineteenth century attempted to masculinize this traditional female occupation and frustrate efforts by women to become medical practitioners. ² Luz María Hernández Sáenz suggests that surgeons in colonial Mexico clamored for social prestige, and that "their ultimate goal would not be achieved until well into the nineteenth century when women were finally excluded from recognized obstetrical practice and replaced by qualified male practitioners." Ana María Carrillo states that "Mexican doctors methodically promoted the training of certified midwives in the nineteenth century [but only] as a means to eliminate their profession altogether—an objective they realized in the twentieth century." ³ Their investigations complement certain scholarship on midwifery in the United States, Britain, and Spain. Janet Bogdan, for example, contends that doctors in the United States intentionally usurped "the midwife's traditionally exclusive place at the bedside of childbearing women." Jean Towler and Joan Bramall claim that the British medical profession "became highly organized and attempted to take over midwifery." Teresa Ortiz notes that Spain witnessed "the transformation of the art of midwifery into a male dominated activity." ⁴

This paper is concerned firstly, and most importantly, with the development of obstetrics medicine in nineteenth-century Mexico City and secondly with women's participation in the professional medical establishment. ⁵ Research indicates that the U.S., British, and Spanish model of midwifery is not helpful when analyzing developments in Mexico. ⁶ The school records, syllabi, and grades of women who took classes in obstetrics at Mexico's School of Medicine from 1842 to 1898 demonstrate that obstetrics was incorporated into the medical training of both doctors and midwives. Midwives slowly gained respect, assumed key positions in hospitals, and were perceived as professionals by government officials and tax assessors. A registry book of female students at the School of Medicine from 1890 to 1928 confirms that classes in obstetrics continued to be offered into the twentieth century, and that a few women began to distinguish themselves as surgeons, pharmacists, and dentists. Continuous success by females in the rigorous obstetrics program, therefore, challenged male professors to be more tolerant of women in other medical specialties. Finally, graduation statistics from Mexico's medical universities from 1945 to 2000 indicate that some women continued to study obstetrics and that others entered areas of medicine previously reserved for men. These sources suggest that midwifery survived and thrived in the nineteenth century and in fact offered women an avenue into other medical professions. ⁷

The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico...