Anyone would believe that childbirth is a matter of intuition, something that any woman would know how to perform by mere instinct; however, the pain involved and the several complications that may arise, have made it necessary for women to be accompanied by midwives, matrons and, nowadays, medical specialists.
The position for giving birth has changed over the years, and like many other aspects of our lives, even an experience as intimate as the birth of a baby, has been governed by the context and beliefs of each era. In this context, there is a theory that says that Louis XIV of France popularized that a woman’s ideal position at the time of childbirth was lying down.
Several articles, including one published by the American Journal of Public Health, indicate that the king liked to see every woman he impregnated give birth, but became frustrated by the low visibility the use of birthing stools provoked,- which had become popular from previous centuries – so the position in which the woman had to lie down was more favorable to him, despite the fact that it generated greater discomfort for a woman.
Historically, this position was only reserved for cases in which there were complications and doctors needed to perform some kind of surgery. In fact, it has been pointed out the coincidence between the king’s fetichism and the development of the theory of François Mauriceau, who claimed that it would be much more comfortable for the mothers and also for the midwives to be lying down and with their legs elevated.
It may have been a coincidence and a great development for medicine at the time, but the reality is that it is difficult to separate this from the influence that a figure like the French King may have had regarding the popularity of this position, so much to the point that it became a normal practice in the 17th century, and is still used in clinics and hospitals to this day.
This story was originally published in Spanish by Cultura Colectiva.
