Childbirth and Obstetrics in Antiquity - Labor and Delivery

Labor and Delivery

Midwifery and the process of labor and delivery in antiquity go hand in hand. Hospitals did not exist, so delivery took place in the home of the expectant mother with a midwife and the presence of other women to aid the midwife.

Religion played a major role in antiquity including childbirth. Women in labor called upon the goddess Artemis, who had the ability to bring new life into the world as well as the ability to take it away. Though she remained a virgin herself, it was said that she witnessed the pain of her mother during the birth of her brother, Apollo, and immediately assumed the position of midwife. If a woman died while during childbirth, her clothes were taken to the temple of Artemis due to the fact her death was attributed to her. If the birth was successful, the mother would make an offering of thanks by sacrificing some of her clothes to the goddess as well.

Herbs and other plants were used heavily in the delivery process, a practice also linked to religious belief. For example, a drink sprinkled with powdered sow’s dung was given to relieve labor pain, and fumigation with the fat from a hyena was thought to produce immediate delivery. Most of these practices had little to no medical efficacy, but they did probably provide some placebo effect. These superstitious practices were very common and differed from the medical training that scholarly physicians attempted to provide through their research and writing. Despite the attempt to use science in advancing medical knowledge, the experimentation and teachings of the Hippocratic Corpus were not necessarily more effective than the traditional customs of midwifery. For example, the Hippocratic writers believed that the womb could move out of place and cause health problems, and the prescribed treatment was to coax the displaced womb back into place using sweet-smelling herbs.

Significant advances were made in child bearing with the introduction of the Hippocratic Corpus in the 3rd century BCE, though this document still proved to implement many ideas concerning superstitions. Physician, Galen, also provided much advancement in medicine for women in the late 1st century CE, though he focused mostly on specific diseases with only some aspects of labor mentioned. Physician Soranus, who wrote several texts on gynecology in the 2nd century CE, has proven to be the most eminent authority on childbirth and obstetrics in Classical Antiquity.

Soranus described three main stages of pregnancy: conception, which regarded keeping the male seed within the womb; pica, which occurred 40 days into pregnancy and included symptoms of nausea and cravings for extraordinary foods. During this phase women were also instructed to exercise and sleep more to build up strength as preparation for the labor process. The final stage of pregnancy was described being the labor and the process of delivery. In preparation for labor, the woman was advised to bathe in wine and sweet-water baths to calm her mind before delivery. Her belly was then rubbed with oils to decrease the appearance of stretch marks and her genitals were anointed with herbs and injected with softeners such as goose fat.

The role of the midwife was very important during the process of childbirth and Soranus described her role in great detail. For example, the midwife was to have certain tools to ensure a safe delivery, including: clean olive oil, sea sponges, pieces of wool bandages to cradle the infant, a pillow, strong smelling herbs in case of fainting, and a birthing stool.

The midwife would ready her supplies as labor began. During the labor process, the mother would lay on her back on a hard, low bed with support under her hips. Her thighs were parted with her feet drawn up. Gentle massage was implemented to ease labor pains as cloths soaked in warm olive oil were laid over her stomach and genital area. Against the woman's sides were placed hot compresses in the form of warm oil-filled bladders.

During the actual birth, the mother would be moved to the birthing stool where she was seated with a midwife in front of her and female aids standing at her sides. In a normal headfirst delivery, the cervical opening was stretched slightly, and the rest of the body was pulled out. Soranus instructed the midwife to wrap her hands in pieces of cloth or thin papyrus so that the slippery newborn did not slide out of her grasp.