Adolphe Pinard (4 February 1844 – 1 March 1934) was a French

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

who was a native of Méry-sur-Seine. He practiced medicine in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he was an assistant to

Étienne Stéphane Tarnier Stéphane Étienne Tarnier (29 April 1828 – 23 November 1897) was a French obstetrician who was a native of Aiserey. He studied and practiced medicine in Paris, and is often considered as doyen of French obstetrics during the second half of the ...

(1828–1897) and a professor of

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

, as well as a member of parliament for the Paris region.

Career

Pinard was a pioneer of modern

perinatal Prenatal development () involves the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal deve ...

care and the "puericulture movement" — the teaching of infant care to expectant mothers in French obstetrics. He made a number of contributions in his work involving pre-natal and maternal health, and was an advocate of providing social care for pregnant women from deprived environments. He established abdominal obstetric

palpation Palpation is the process of using one's hands to check the body, especially while perceiving/diagnosing a disease or illness. Usually performed by a health care practitioner, it is the process of feeling an object in or on the body to determine ...

methods, and his name is associated with "Pinard's manoeuvre", a technique used in breech extraction. In 1895 he invented a special

stethoscope The stethoscope is a medicine, medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, with either one or two tubes connected t ...

for listening to fetal activity. The device is sometimes reverently referred to as a " Pinard horn", or fetoscope (although fetoscope now refers to a fetal

endoscope An endoscope is an inspection instrument composed of image sensor, optical lens, light source and mechanical device, which is used to look deep into the body by way of openings such as the mouth or anus. A typical endoscope applies several modern ...

). Pinard horns are a safe and non-invasive tool used to listen to the fetal heart tones, and are still in use worldwide today, primarily by Midwives. Pinard was a founder member of the French Eugenics Society in 1913 and served as its president. Eugenic ideas were incorporated into his idea of 'puériculture'. He also served as a parliamentary deputy for the Radical party between 1919 and 1928. As a deputy he argued for pro-natalist policies, but he was also sympathetic to and an influence on French feminism. In 1926 he introduced a law requiring future spouses to provide a pre-nuptial certificate of good health (attesting the absence of contagious diseases) before the marriage could be officially registered.

Death and legacy

Pinard died on 1 March 1934 in Méry-sur-Seine. Today the ''Maternité Adolphe-Pinard'' in Nancy and the ''Boulevard Adolphe Pinard'' in Paris are named after him. This

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

is a boundary between Paris and the city of

Malakoff Malakhov () is a Russian language, Russian family name derived from the Biblical name of Malachi. Alternative spellings include Malakov and Malakoff. The name may refer to: People ''Listed alphabetically by given name'' *Andrey Malakhov (born 1972 ...

. He received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for his war work, and subsequently was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour for his work in obstetrics.

Writings

* ''Traité du palper abdominal, au point de vue obstétrical, et de la version par manœuvres externes'', H. Lauwereyns, 1878 - Treatise on abdominal palpation, etc. * ''Traitement de l'infection puerpérale'' (in collaboration with Victor Wallich), G. Steinheil, 1896 - Treatment of puerperal infection. * ''Clinique obstétricale'', Steinheil, 1899 - Obstetrical clinic. * ''La puériculture du premier âge : nourriture, vêtement, hygiène'', Colin, 1904 - Childcare in infancy: nourishment, clothing,

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

. * ''L'enseignement de la puériculture'' (in collaboration with Henri Méry), Impr. nationale, 1912 - Instruction in puericulture.Bibliography copied from an article on "Adolphe Pinard" at the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

References

www.emilypinard.com

Sources

External links

Neonatology on the Web
The History of Neonatology French obstetricians 1844 births 1934 deaths {{France-med-bio-stub Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour