In the modern world, it is commonly known how women give birth, every student in our moden world knows about the prenatal development and the period of a woman's life after giving birth. This, however, was not the case for the medieval world. Surgeons or physicians were not present during the time when a woman would give birth - rather it was considered a woman's job to help another deliver her child, which naturally lead to a series of complications and health dangers for women from lower social classes, though even noblewomen were not spared from the possibility of dying in the process of childbirth. Even after childbirth, women still could die from various complications such as diseases, wounds and etc. It is commonly believed that during the Middle Ages, one in three women died after or before giving birth. For example, the Queen of England, Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), had four children out of which only two reached adulthood. Another queen, Jane Seymour, died two weeks after giving birth (postnatal complications) to King Edward the Sixth.
People did nto commonly know how one were to deliver their baby, or how to tell whether a woman was pregnant. Women often learned that they were pregnant at around their fifth month of pregnancy, when they would begin feeling their child inside of them. This was commonly known as "the quickening". Even well-educated physicians could not definitively tell whether a woman was pregnant or not, although common methods were using tests, such as examining a woman's urine, and in some cases studying how wine would react in contact with it. There was also no possibility of checking the baby's health before birth, and often those that were born with deformities were left to die or killed. A type of deformity that was usually looked down upon were dwarves, most of whom did not live long lives, often being abandoned to die.
Delivering a baby to the world was a job mainly done by other women, it was a rare occurrence for a physician or a doctor to attend the childbirth of a woman without status. Queens, princesses and highborn ladies were assisted in their pregnancy by experienced physicians and midwives. The term 'midwife' refers to a woman that has a lot of experience when it comes to childbirth and is often welcome to attend and assist to her abilities. Often times only wealthy women could have afforded hiring midwives.
The medieval texts about childbirth were dominantly written by men who were clergy and members of the church. It was commonly believed that women had a penis turned inwards. Thus, it was believed that women were lesser versions of men as their sexual organs did not develop properly. It was also believed that the primary duty of a woman had was to deliver a baby and get pregnant. Other than that, it was unremarkably thought that women had the power of deciding the sex of the baby (whether through their personal choice, or the type of food, drinks and medicine they used) There were a lot of possible complications for women after childbirth, but that does not mean that a little of a number of women had children. In fact, families back then were quite big and many women had a lot of children who were perfectly healthy.
Earlier version
From the old forum. Posted by Jakey on 20 September 2018.
Childbirth
In the modern world, it as a common knowledge how do women give birth. Each student in the school knows everything about the prenatal & the period after giving birth of a woman's life. However, in the medieval times this was not the common knowledge. Even the doctors were not present during a woman giving birth - it was considered a woman's job to help another deliver her baby to the world. This lead to series of complications, dangers and potential risks for women from all social classes. No matter from what social class the woman came from there was a dangerous possibility of a woman dying in the process. The problem did not end there, as many women died afterwards from various complications such as diseases, wounds and so on. The studies show that, in medieval times, one of three women died after or before giving birth. For example, the Queen of England, Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), had four children out of which only two reached adulthood, the other two died during their childhood. Queen of England, Jane Seymour, died two weeks after giving birth (postnatal complications) to King Edward the Sixth.
It was not a common knowledge of how one delivers her baby or how one knows that she is pregnant. Women often learned that they are pregnant only in their fifth month of pregnancy and that only because they would finally feel their child inside of them. This was known as the "quickening". Even educated doctors found it hard to determine if the woman is pregnant. Some of such tests involved checking and examining the woman's urine or experimenting how would wine react in the contact with it. There was no possibility of checking the health of the baby and babies that were deformed in some way were often killed or left to die. Dwarves were looked down upon, and many did not survive long to see their second day of life as they would be immediately killed or left somewhere.
Delivering a baby to the world was a job dominantly done by other women. It was a rare occurrence for a physician or a doctor to attend childbirth. However, in extreme cases it could be done. Princesses, Queens and similar high born ladies were helped by experienced doctors, physicians and midwives. A term midwife refers to a woman that has a lot of experience when it comes to childbirth and as such is welcome to attend it and help as much as she possibly can. Obviously, only rich women could have afforded midwives.
Commonly, it was not a public knowledge that a woman is pregnant. However, in case the Queen is pregnant that was a message that was delivered through the kingdom as she is possibly having the future heir to the throne.
The medieval texts about childbirth were dominantly written by men who were clergy and members of the church. It was commonly believed that women had a penis turned inwards. Thus, it was believed that 'woman' was a non developed version of men as their sexual organs did not develop properly. It was believed that only job a woman had is to deliver a baby and get pregnant. Other than that, it was unremarkably thought that women had the power of deciding the sex of the baby (whether through their personal choice, or the type of food, drinks and medicine they used) There were a lot of possible complications for women after childbirth, but that does not mean that a little of a number of women had children. In fact, families back then were quite big and many women had a lot of children who were perfectly healthy.