The Care of the Newborn in Antiquity

In this talk 'Antiquity" covered the earliest records till about 100 years ago when medical interest in perinatology began. Birth has always been a subject for mysticism and religious practices. Since prehistoric times every community had a traditional birth attendant who was self-selected, illiterate and passed on her skill by word of mouth. These women still do most of the midwifery in the rural areas of the third world. The Old Testament contains the most authentic references which include the first in 1850 B.C., the instruction to Abraham that all Israeli male infants should be circumcised on the 8th day as a mark of the special relationship of the Hebrews and later Moses' law that mothers should present their sons in the temple at 40 days and daughters at 80 days for purification by the priest and animal sacrifice. In B.C. 1732 a midwife is mentioned as delivering Rachel after hard labour resulting in maternal death but the infant Benjamin was saved. Subsequently two midwives saved the whole race of Israel in Egypt by refusing to obey Pharaoh's command to kill all newborn infants on the grounds that the Hebrew women were strong and did not need the customary pressure on the abdomen to deliver. At Pharaoh's second attempt to kill the newborn boys the midwife saved the infant Moses. In ancient times only mature, healthy infants were considered fit to survive; the premature and deformed were allowed to die from exposure to cold, starvation and even sacrifice by fire. Job refers to the practice of concealing premature babies till they died and this was usual in the civilisations of China, Sparta and Rome. Physicians were never involved in these decisions. Hippocrates only briefly mentions the newborn but suggests that they need special care and Aristotle describes milking blood back into the umbilical cord as a treatment for white asphyxia. Soranus and Galen of Ephesus emphasised skin care, breast feeding and swaddling to provide warmth and also to mould the limbs into good shape. The Arabic physicians in 600-700 A.D. rubbed the skin with nut oil and salt before swaddling. Christianity spreading throughout Europe and the Middle East brought great changes in attitudes to maternal and infant care and the Nativity was a subject of great importance to the mediaeval artists. Gradually the Church became involved in saving the lives of the foetus and newborn infant. Strange practices were being …