In this talk, I trace the eighteenth-century origins and use of simulative mannequins in training midwives and man-midwives. Made from a mixture of materials—including textiles, wood, glass, wax, and wicker—these life-size pregnant “phantom” women were used to impart hands-on skills to students before they transitioned into real-life birthing scenarios. I frame the development of these mannequins as an example of technological ingenuity while challenging assumptions that such innovation was the preserve of male medical practitioners who sought to professionalize what they saw as an ‘ignorant’ discipline. In so doing, I highlight the enterprising spirit of French midwives and female artisans, who in creating and using such models in their teaching, contributed to this ‘technological turn’ in the history of obstetrics.