Although the development of germ theory in the 1880s shed light on the origins of childbed fever, which often killed women in the days after delivery, not much could be done to save lives until the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s. In the first program in our series, Who Controls Women’s Health? A Century of Struggle, medical writer Randi Hutter Epstein explores the approaches taken in the interim by doctors, medical charlatans, and feminist activists, which demonstrate what can happen when the origins of a condition are debated, and its cure unknown.
Following her lecture, Epstein will be joined in conversation by Peter Schafer, Acting Director of Center for Health Policy and Programs at the New York Academy of Medicine.
Who Controls Women’s Health? A Century of Struggle is a free, three-part talk series that examines key battles over women’s ability to control their bodies, health choices, and fertility. It is developed in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New Yorkand supported by a grant from the Humanities New York.
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About the Speakers:
Randi Hutter Epstein, MD, MPH, is a medical writer, adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a lecturer at Yale University. She worked as a medical writer for the London bureau of The Associated Press and was the London bureau chief of Physicians’ Weekly.
Peter Schafer is the Acting Director of Center for Health Policy and Programs at the New York Academy of Medicine. Schafer has over twenty years’ experience in policy development, community-based participatory research, and program design and implementation.