Paula Modersohn-Becker, the challenges of pregnancy and the weight of tradition

• Main Authors: Karakas Scott L, Piccoli Giorgina B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2011-06-01
• Series: Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine
• Online Access: http://www.peh-med.com/content/6/1/11

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Paula Modersohn-Becker, widely considered to have been one of the most important independent Expressionist painters of the early twentieth century, was thirty-one years old when she gave birth to her first child. Following the then-common practice of putting women to bed rest for two-four weeks after delivery, she died of massive pulmonary embolism when she was first allowed to stand, eighteen days after giving birth. Paula had foreseen her death at a young age and was apprehensive about her pregnancy, yet she painted herself as pregnant in her best known self-portrait, thus underlining the importance of the pregnancy in her life. In the light of knowledge available at the time, the authors present a brief discussion of the life and death of Paula Modersohn-Becker as a reflection on the potential dangers of blindly following conventional wisdom in the medical profession.</p>