Ep. 78 Childbirth: How a Deadly Ordeal Got Deadlier Before It Got Safer

History Fix

The bloody history of childbirth is riddled with death and despair. It's a burden that was carried almost entirely by women, behind closed doors, something men took no part in. And, because of that, we know very little about it today. What we do know is that it was an extremely dangerous affair. Mortality was so high, many women wrote a will as soon as they found out they were pregnant. The 18th century saw the beginning of the "medicalization" of childbirth when inexperienced forcep bearing male doctors got involved and began a crusade to put a stop to midwifery. But, ironically, childbirth didn't get any safer after that. It actually got deadlier, at first.
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Sources:

• Birth Injury Help Center "The History of Childbirth"
• Designing Motherhood "Birthing Furniture: An Illustrated History"
• What to Expect "500 Years of Childbirth History in Under 2 Minutes"
• Oregon Health and Science University "A Brief History of Midwifery in America"
• The Guardian "I enjoyed researching the bloody history of childbirth - then I had a baby"
• World Health Organization "Maternal Mortality"
• Slate "The Disturbing, Shameful History of Childbirth Deaths"
• Statistica "Percentage of physicians in select specialties in the U.S. who were women as of 2023"
  

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