Giving birth in the 17th century
HistoryExtra podcast
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How Effective Was Emit's Pain Relief?
Women expected to experience some pain during labour. Midwives had a lot of ways of dealing with that, including fumes and wine sacks. Fumes would rise through the hole in the berthing chair and go into the woman's vagina. The idea was to open up the passages of the body so she could give birth without excruciating pain.
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