[Catharina Hellena Malhiem's textbook in midwifery from 1756]

From notations in the literature it has been known that a midwife from a provincial capital in Sweden, Vänersborg, in 1758 applied to Collegium Medicum (The National Board of Health) for support to a textbook in midwifery. It was, however, not published. In 1993 the book was found in an archive. This article describes the content of the book and her struggle to be accepted as a trained midwife by the burghers of the town - as it is described in the records from the municipal court. She wrote her book - 110 questions and answers - for education of the women and traditional midwives in the area. There are three chapters: On the personal qualifications of a midwife and the anatomy of the body; On the normal delivery and On the abnormal delivery. Obviously she has been influenced by the books written by the Swedish obstetrician von Hoorn in 1697 and 1715 but in general an analysis of the text shows that it is also independent from other sources. There are some answers indicating a fairly high level of knowledge, like the advice to dry the child after christening in order to avoid cooling down. Mrs Malhiems book was not accepted by the Collegium Medicum. Nor was she given permission to train midwives or become a provincial midwife for the region. The authorities wanted to retain their central power. Mrs Malhiem herself died as a poor woman in 1795, 79 years old.