women in Catherine’s position, forced to contend with the demands of an infant and young children while simultaneously maintaining the home for her husband on ever-diminishing pay, could not permit themselves the luxury of their own pregnancies, or even their deliveries, keeping them from their duties. Even with occasional help from female relations and neighbours, a woman was expected to be on her feet engaged in ‘the incessant drudgery of domestic labour’ up until the moment of birth. If she didn’t possess the means of paying for assistance during her period of recovery, she had no choice
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