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Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray (c. 1712 – 17 April 1794) was an influential, pioneering midwife during her lifetime, who gained fame when men were taking over the field. She rose from middle–class origins to become noticed and commissioned by King Louis XV, himself. ==Life== Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray was born into an eminent French medical family in Clermont-Ferrand. In February 1740, at the age of twenty-five, Angélique du Coudray completed her three-year apprenticeship with Anne Bairsin, dame Philibet Magin and passed her qualifying examinations at the College of Surgery École de Chirurgie. Within the next few years, the school of surgery had barred female midwives from receiving instruction. After du Coudray demanded that the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Paris provide instructions to all midwives and midwifery students by signing a petition, du Coudray was accepted into the school. In 1743, the status of surgeons heightened and expanded into the field of midwifery; this allowed surgeons to deny instruction to female midwives. Du Coudray and other female midwives signed a second petition and accused surgeons of neglecting their duties. Du Coudray argued that by refusing to instruct female midwives, midwives would be improperly trained and thus, would lead to a shortage of officially accredited midwives. To prevent potential harm to patients, medical doctors were evoked to solve the problem. After the situation was solved and all midwives received proper training, du Coudray became the head ''accoucheuse'' at the Hôtel Dieu in Paris. By guiding and leading this political matter, du Coudray became a prominent figure in Paris. In 1759, she published an early midwifery textbook, ''Abrégé de l'art des accouchements'' (Abridgment of the Art of Delivery), which was a revision and expansion of an earlier midwifery textbook published in 1667. In that same year, the king commissioned her to teach midwifery to peasant women in an attempt to reduce infant mortality. Between 1760 to 1783, she traveled all over rural France, sharing her extensive knowledge with poor women. During this time, she is estimated to have taught in over forty French cities and rural towns and to have directly trained 4,000 students. She was also responsible for the training of 6,000 other women who were taught directly by her former students. She had also taught about 500 surgeons and physicians, who were all men. By educating others, du Coudray became a national sensation and international symbol of French medical advancement. Du Coudray died in Bordeaux on April 17, 1794. There is mystery around du Coudray's death because she died during the Reign of Terror and after the French Revolution just took place. Many scholars believe that du Coudray was killed during the night because she was previously commissioned and endorsed by King Louis XV. Others believe that du Coudray simply died because of old age. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Angélique du Coudray」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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