In Safe Hands: The Battle for Midwifery
This digital exhibition accompanies our temporary exhibition In Safe Hands: The Battle For Midwifery, which is now open at Surgeons’ Hall Museums at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). For those of you who cannot make it to Edinburgh, we’re bringing the exhibition to you! Here you will find the full range of objects, rare books and archives on display, with each section corresponding with the panel text of the exhibition.
The exhibition explores the story of midwifery and obstetrics through the centuries, with particular emphasis on how the perception of childbirth changed from being simply a life event into an experience requiring medical oversight. Traditionally women naturally took on the role of safely delivering a baby, the new 'medicalised' model saw the rise of the man-midwife from around the 18th century. RCSEd Fellows were instrumental in pioneering midwifery education from the 1720s, and the exhibition highlights Edinburgh's contribution to the development of the profession and how this has evolved into modern practices.
October 2023
