A blog about medieval childbirth, maternal care, and midwifery, from an aspiring historian with too much time on her hands.
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Maternity Leave, Then and Now
In the Middle Ages, a mother might be confined to the home after giving birth for thirty to sixty days. The general idea was that childbirth made a woman spiritually and/or physically unclean for a time, and she was kept separate from much of society until she underwent a purification ceremony at a church or synagogue. The tradition began in the… Read more
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Educating Midwives
Education and training for midwives was a rollercoaster ride from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Rome and Greece educated and trained their midwives just as they educated and trained their other physicians. Medieval Europe…not so much. That didn’t mean medieval Europe didn’t want or need midwives. Far from it! They just…didn’t support them as well… Read more
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Medieval Midwives 