Today, medicine ensures that women have the safest possible childbirth, which can only be fatal in rare cases. However, this was not the case in ancient times. Women knew that childbirth was extremely dangerous for them. Many people were afraid to give birth because they knew that nearly every second woman in labor died due to blood loss or infection. We will discuss how various historical periods defined pregnancy, dealt with infertility, and gave birth.
Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians, like the Romans, were particularly interested in finding out if the woman they chose was infertile. Because the ovulation tracker had not yet been invented at the time, the pregnancy test consisted of a cereal seedling on which the woman had to urinate. This exotic method could also be used to predict the gender of a future child. If wheat sprouted first, a girl would be born, whereas barley would produce a boy. The Egyptians thought that a pregnant woman’s urine contained a special hormone, and in 70% of cases, it clearly indicated
pregnancy.
Egyptian women gave birth while squatting. The feet were supposed to be placed on two birthing bricks decorated with paintings of various deities. The birthing process was supplemented by magical rituals in which participants invoked the gods depicted on the bricks to assist the woman in labor. If the labor was difficult, the woman must be fumigated with incense.
Tauret’s image was frequently found on amulets worn by laboring women as well as in small prayers erected by Egyptians near their homes in honor of the goddess. During numerous excavations in ancient Egypt, archaeologists discovered statuettes of Taourt made of pottery and faience. However, the cult of the fertile goddess did not include temples and pyramids.
Ancient Rome
In ancient times, the Romans did not use any tricks to have children! For example, pregnant Roman women lavishly adorned themselves with amber accessories. It was believed that this stone could assist a woman in safely delivering the fetus and carrying the pregnancy.
In ancient Rome, midwives would apply special aromatic substances to a laboring woman’s nose and wait for her to sneeze to relieve her pain. The Romans believed that the reflex would help push the baby out of the womb. Because anesthesia had not yet been invented, Caesarean sections were only performed on women who died during childbirth. Because of the high mortality rate, the Romans were concerned that the child would die soon after birth, so the baby was named only after they were certain of its viability – a week after birth.
Soranus of Ephesus, also known as the founder of pediatrics, lived and worked in ancient Rome as Hippocrates’ main opponent in the vicissitudes of gynecology. Soranus refuted Hippocrates’ claim that a six-month-old fetus had a higher chance of survival than a seven-month-old fetus. Soran believed that mature fetuses were always more viable. He also advocated for the prohibition of crude assistance during childbirth and created guidelines for breastfeeding newborns. Soran learned about professionalism from midwives. It did not bother him that in ancient Rome, the secrets of midwifery were primarily taught to females. After gaining experience, he taught multiple generations of midwives how to properly turn and extract the fetus.
Ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, pregnancy was defined by objective symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, weakness, loss of appetite, and menstrual discharge. Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek healer, was the first to describe the relationship between the cessation of critical days and the onset of pregnancy. It is known that nine of the doctor’s 72 scientific works focused on women’s diseases and obstetrics. However, despite his extensive knowledge, the healer devised yet another, completely insane by modern standards, method of determining pregnancy.
Hippocrates invited his patients to drink a special solution. To prepare it, anise had to be ground, mixed with honey, and dissolved in water. After drinking this beverage, the pregnant woman was bound to experience abdominal cramps. If she didn’t feel them, there was no reason to expect a new addition to the family.
In ancient Greece, a woman in labor was expected to kneel before giving birth to her child. It was thought that this position would relieve the woman’s pain. Midwifery assistance was only provided for extremely difficult deliveries. In other cases, the midwife only needed to cut the umbilical cord. Midwives gradually established themselves as a distinct social class. They passed down their invaluable knowledge of midwifery from generation to generation.
Conclusion
Childbirth has historically been a perilous journey for women, with various practices and beliefs in place to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Despite the risks, these historical practices laid the groundwork for modern obstetrics, emphasizing the enduring human desire to bring new life into the world safely. Today, we have advanced medical knowledge and technology, but stories about ancient childbirth remind us of our ancestors’ resilience and ingenuity.