# Tara Mulder, "A Womb of One's Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome" (U California Press, 2026)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692/tara-mulder-a-womb-of-one-s-own-lost-histories-of-childbirth-in-ancient-rome-u-california-press-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692/tara-mulder-a-womb-of-one-s-own-lost-histories-of-childbirth-in-ancient-rome-u-california-press-2026.md
Podcast: [Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692)
Published: 2026-05-16T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK1830322960.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK1830322960.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692/episodes/tara-mulder-a-womb-of-one-s-own-lost-histories-of-childbirth-in-ancient-rome-u-california-press-2026
Duration seconds: 3362

## Resource

In the well-trod history of the Roman Empire, a pivotal moment has long gone unnoticed: It was in ancient Rome that medical men first set their sights on childbirth, the traditional domain of female midwives.Taking us to the dawn of Western obstetrics, A Womb of One's Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome (U California Press, 2026) by Dr. Tara Mulder offers a feminist account of how, against a long tradition of midwifery, male doctors began claiming authority in reproductive matters, with an emphasis on theoretical rather than practical knowledge. Their intrusion paved the way for the later criminalization of midwives and the cloaking of childbirth in secrecy and shame.Yet communities of Roman women continued to help each other through the journey from preconception to postpartum, guided by their own experience and the expertise of midwives. Tara Mulder recovers stories of ancient women living and resisting as they sought autonomy over their bodies and their health. Recounting their experiences in vivid, intimate detail, she reveals how old our modern conflicts about birth truly are. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692/episodes/tara-mulder-a-womb-of-one-s-own-lost-histories-of-childbirth-in-ancient-rome-u-california-press-2026/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/beyond-the-margins-the-university-of-california-press-podcast-7096692/tara-mulder-a-womb-of-one-s-own-lost-histories-of-childbirth-in-ancient-rome-u-california-press-2026.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.