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aeatn lor-Dowi ner ana ner oaoy,.1..Child Was BlamedCOMPLETELY misunderstanding, the processes involved, primitive peoples imagined that the pains Vof childbirth were due to the child's efforts to enter the world. They supposed that ; when the time was ripe, the child fought and struggled to emerge into theworld. When childbirth was slow and difficult, they blamed it uponthe child and adopted harsh andbrutal methods, without any concern. for the health or feelings of the mother, to persuade the child to hurry.Thus the Indians, when labor was prolonged, would pickup the woman by her feet and shake her, or bounce her on a blanket. Another trick was to let her lie on the ground upon an open field while a brave oi\ horseback, shouting and waving his tomahawk, rode at her. Straight for her he would ride, as if to trample upon her, only turning aside at the last moment.Such crude methods, belong to every age and land. In ancient Greeee, despite the fact that therewas a high regard for women, cases of difficult labor were treated by repeatedly lifting up the woman and dropping her upon the bed. Another method was to tie her to a table top, set the table up on edge and pound it against the ground.The midwife made her. appearance. early in history. Originally a pregnant woman might be attended by some friend or any old woman in the neighborhood. But gradually certain women began to pay more and more attention to this type of activity and so the midwife came into existence.Midwives constituted a well established class in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. Despite the crudities of‘the day, these women undoubtedly collected a fund of practical knowledge that had some value. In ancient Egypt, the midwife might call in a priesi-surgeon in difficult eases though his chief value was to perform the necessary bloody operation of removing a dead baby piecemeal. In Greece, the midwives were privileged to call in the physicians but the serv-
Newspaper Details
El Paso Herald Post
El Paso, Texas, US
Mon, Sep 27, 1937
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Raul M.
NA, 24 May 2022
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