When Did Women Start Lying Down to Give Birth?

Woman have been giving birth lying down since the beginning of time. It made more sense in the older days because people wanted to be able to view the experience. In this day and age it is still happening because for medical reasons, it just makes more sense. Woman are often hooked up to lines and don’t want to risk pulling out an IV line by having them sit up or get into other various positions to give birth.

Key Takeaways:

• The lithotomy position is the one you often see on TV, where the woman giving birth lies in a hospital bed with her feet in the stirrups.
• There is scant evidence available that shows any advantage or disadvantage to giving birth in the lithotomy position.
• The World Health Organization recommends that women give birth in a position that feels comfortable for them.

“The Chamberlens, a father-son duo who turned midwifery into a booming family business, developed forceps in the early seventeenth century and kept them a trade secret for decades.”

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