Exhibition at the Biomedical Library: From midwives to obstetric science

About the exhibition

Childbirth has historically been a woman's business. The knowledge of midwives was based on tradition, experience and often superstition and folklore. With the advent of science in the 17th century, obstetric care developed. With the science did also men and doctors made their way into the obstetric care.

The books in this exhibition show how obstetrics developed from being based mainly on oral tradition to becoming a recognised scientific field.  The exhibition includes material by Johan von Hoorn (1662-1724), considered the father of scientific childbirth in Sweden, and the manuals of the German court midwife Justine Siegemund (1636-1705) on complicated childbirth.  The exhibition also features obstetric instruments on loan from the Museum of Medical History in Gothenburg