While male midwives were increasing in popularity, many people were forced to deal with concerns about the propriety of men practicing obstetrics and gynecology. To support this expansion of their role, male medical practitioners worked to downplay any ideas of women’s sexual pleasure within their medical texts. As time went on, new medical texts began to depict only fragmented images of women and their bodies alongside medical information. Similarly, obstetrical machines, which were used to train male midwives, consisted of “a torso with the legs amputated at the knees." This allowed male medical professionals a strong argument against any accusations of sexual impropriety.