Emily Brown

“With no sinks and no running water in the wards of the Rotunda until 1877, there was no facility for optimal hand washing before or after examining a woman.33 Instead of hand washing before examining a woman vaginally, the doctor, midwife or pupil lubricated his/her fingers in a communal pot of hog’s lard.34 Afterwards the examiner wiped his/her fingers with a napkin and went on to examine the next woman.”
― Elaine Farrell, 'She said she was in the family way': Pregnancy and infancy in modern Ireland

“husband traditionally stood at his wife’s back, placed his hands on her shoulders and supported her in a kneeling position while she gave birth.43 His presence was thought to lend moral support and to protect his wife from being taken by the fairies.”
― Elaine Farrell, 'She said she was in the family way': Pregnancy and infancy in modern Ireland

“In 1926, child adoption was legalized in England and Wales. This did not occur in Ireland until 1952, after being continually blocked by the Catholic hierarchy, yet before this, thousands of babies had been adopted illegally.”
― Elaine Farrell, 'She said she was in the family way': Pregnancy and infancy in modern Ireland

“The melons looked all right, but there’s not much inside them when you cut them open.’ ‘Those mooncakes are good, aren’t they?’ said Cousin Zhen. ‘They were made by our new pastry-cook. I tried them myself to make sure they were all right before venturing to send you any. As for the melons: we’ve been lucky in previous years, but for some reason none of them this year seem to be any good.’ ‘I think we must blame the weather,’ said Jia Zheng. ‘The rains this year were excessive.”
― Cao Xueqin, The Warning Voice