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When people think of childbirth today, the common image is that
of a sterile hospital with doctors presiding over the birth process.
Seldom does it strike a person how far the obstetrical profession
has progressed over the century or so.
 "Obstetrical
Literature and the Changing Nature of Childbirth," a new
exhibit of rare obstetrical books and instruments at CWRU's Dittrick
Medical History Center and Museum, explores the "medicalization"
of birth and the emergence of obstetrics as a medical specialty
over the past five centuries.
The exhibit will be in the Cushing Reading Room on the second
floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library, home of the Dittrick
Medical History Center, through March 2003.
Assembled by James Edmonson, chief curator of the Dittrick, and
volunteer research assistant Julian Kassen, the exhibit gives
insights into the origins of the obstetrical profession through
rare books authored by innovators in the profession, including
Scottish "man-midwives" William Hunter and William Smellie. These
books vary in character, ranging from instruction manuals for
midwives in the 16th century to major anatomical treatises in
the 18th century that first accurately depicted and explained
the process of childbirth.
The displays also include obstetric instruments used in childbirth
throughout the centuries. These reveal how knowledge of the profession
grew as well as the refinement of the instruments used in the
process of childbirth, according to Edmonson. A major sub-theme
of the exhibit is the professional development of obstetrics.
For most of human history, childbirth was an event mediated by
female midwives, who delivered women in their homes with the comfort
and help of female friends and family. This began to change in
the 17th century with the advance of anatomical knowledge; the
introduction of the obstetric forceps; and the emergence of man-midwifery,
which became the field of obstetrics.
These changes encompassed a "battle of the sexes" as male physicians
wrested control over the birth process from female midwives. The
process culminated in the shift of birth from home to hospital
in the first half of the 20th century and the establishment of
obstetrics as a distinct science and specialty.
The exhibit at the Allen Library is not only an opportunity to
learn something new about the profession, but it also gives the
public a chance to view some of the 50,000 rare books that CWRU's
Dittrick Center possesses, Kassen said. The Dittrick is one of
the country's largest medical museums. These books contain illustrations
that depict the thought trends about childbirth in different time
periods, ranging from simplistic diagrams in the 16th century
to benchmark detailed drawings of dissections of women who died
prior to giving birth in the late18th century and gave the first
detailed look at the female anatomy, according to Edmonson.
For information, call 368-3648.
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