Joseph-Alexis Stoltz (14 December 1803 – 20 May 1896) 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 ...

, born in

Andlau Andlau ( or ; Alsatian: ''Àndlöi'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace, Grand Est region of northeastern France. The village owes its origin to Andlau Abbey which was founded in 880 by Richardis, the empress of Charles the Fa ...

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1829 he became an associate professor at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, and in 1834 he was appointed professor of ''accouchements'' (obstetrics). In 1867 he was appointed dean of the faculty of medicine at the university. Due to the consequences of the Franco-Prussian War, the medical faculty relocated to

Nancy-Université Nancy-Université federated the three principal institutes of higher education of Nancy, France, Nancy, in Lorraine (region), Lorraine, France before their merger into the University of Lorraine: * Henri Poincaré University (UHP, also known as ...

in 1872, where Stoltz resumed his role as dean. He is credited for introducing to France the technique of

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * ''PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * P ...

induced labor in dangerous cases, and also making improvements to the obstetrical

forceps Forceps (plural forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Fo ...

. He was the author of many papers in the fields of obstetrics,

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

and

pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

, and penned the introduction to Hermann Franz Naegele's ''A Practical Treatise on Midwifery'' (). The following are a few of his principal writings: * ''Considerations on points relating to the art of childbirth'', 1826 () * ''Of Deliverance'', 1834 () * ''Memory and observations on the provocation of premature birth in cases of pelvic stricture'', 1835 ()IDREF.fr
(bibliography)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltz, Joseph-Alexis French obstetricians 1803 births 1896 deaths Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg People from Bas-Rhin Academic staff of Nancy-Université 19th-century French physicians