ABOVE: A relief carving of a midwife delivering a baby in ancient Rome. As part of the birthing process, Soranus wrote, it was the midwife’s job to keep the mother calm and relaxed, even during times of examination: “The midwife should beware of fixing her gaze steadfastly on the genitals of the labouring woman, lest being ashamed, her body become contracted. . .”
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Around 100 CE, a Greek physician of the Roman Empire known as Soranus of Ephesus wrote several books on medicine, compiling the knowledge of the day into volumes on anatomy, disease, surgery, and pharmacology, among other subjects. His most enduring work, On Midwifery and the Diseases of Women, covered female reproduction from conception through newborn care, including new solutions to old problems. It would remain the gold standard for obstetrics and gynecology until significant scientific strides were made during the Enlightenment 1,500 years later.
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