 "The Midwives Book" was published in 1671, instructing women how to conceive a child, maintain pregnancy, prepare for childbirth, bear a child, and care for a woman after childbirth.Its scope made it a manual not only for midwives, but for women and men to learn about anatomy and sexuality.Most midwifery manuals of the period came from men, some of whom had never witnessed a childbirth, Sharp's book focused on the practices.