A Dutch birth-room with a maid giving sweetmeats to gossips (Credit: Wellcome Collection)
Obstetrical Chair (Credit: Wellcome Collection)
Woman giving birth aided by a midwife and attendants (Credit: Wellcome Collection)
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Obstetrical Chair (Credit: Wellcome Collection)

Image Details

Date 1513
Location Unknown
Description A woman seated on a obstetrical chair giving birth aided by a midwife who works beneath her skirts.

Woodcut. Lettering continues: "The obstetrical chair upon which women sat during childbirth is mentioned in the Old Testament. The Greeks occasionally used a special bed or couch for this purpose, but the obstetrical chair continued in general use until the seventeenth century and was often used as late as the nineteenth century. Many different types of chair were designed, but the one shown was recommended by Eucharius Roslin, 1513
Reference: Wellcome Collection 16926i
Format
Original Index Number