Midwives

Illustration of a pregnant woman, 1631 (elham 123-p226)

From the second edition of Helkiah Crooke's 'Microcosmographia: A Description of the body of Man'.
Helkiah Crooke (1576-1648) was a physician and anatomist from Suffolk. He first published the Microcosmographia in 1615, when it outraged his colleagues at the College of Physicians because the plates depicted the sexual organs. The illustration shown here is probably one which offended Crooke's colleagues, although nowadays we are more surprised by its stylized depiction of female anatomy. The book was extremely successful and was the largest and most complete anatomical textbook of its day.
As well as being a practising physician and anatomical lecturer, Crooke was keeper of Bethlem Hospital from 1618 to 1634, and adopted a sympathetic approach to the treatment of mental illness.

Recipe for the speedy delivery of Women in Child bed, late 17th century (u49-f15)

Many women kept notebooks containing formulae for medicinal recipes, as well as recipes for food and drink. This particular example comes from a collection of recipes 'in Physicke and Cookery', compiled by 'a discrete oulde and maiden gentlewoman' who, unfortunately, has not been identified. The number of recipes to help women in labour reflects the difficulties often experienced at the hands of unskilful midwives and the fact that many women died in childbirth or from complications afterwards.

The text reads: "Take the Liver of an Elle [eel?] Killed in the full of the Moon and by reason the Moon hath such a great influence over Women and especially in that Condition therefore dry it in the Light of the Moon as much as possible you can without Moulding or Mustiness then in the sun then bruise it to a fine powder and give it to the party and it will ease their pain and hasten their birth it must be given her in white wine".