The tools of the trade

Nowadays, as the probable day of delivery approaches and the birth will take place in hospital, a pregnant woman prepares her bag or suitcase ready to leave when the moment comes. When delivery was at home (it still is sometimes), it was the midwife who had to have all the necessary material ready. That material has no doubt grown and become more sophisticated over time, but for the first graduates from Santa Cristina, things were probably different. Of course, a case like that in the photo was needed to carry all the other things.

Legally, midwives were never allowed to conduct instrumental deliveries, but in reality it has been confirmed that many who worked in remote rural, areas had no option but to learn to use forceps. They were not allowed to prescribe medication either, but doctors would write out recipes for oxytocics and other medicines in case they needed them, so, in fact, they did prescribe. So it is likely that these were among the contents of their cases. They also used to take a clean, white coat or apron to protect themselves and to protect the mother from possible infections, gloves, when they became widely used, soap, maybe a nailbrush and plenty of dressings and cotton wool.

The other item in the photo is a Pinard stethoscope, whose development is attributed to Adolphe Pinard, although it is really a modification of that invented by René Laennec (1781-1826) to listen to the chest of an obese, female patient in as demure a way as possible. The Pinard stethoscope is still in use, especially in places where high technology has not yet arrived, and is useful for checking the vitality of the foetal heartbeat before the second stage of labour.