Page "Midwifery" Paragraph 19

The actual duties of the midwife in antiquity consisted mainly of assisting in the birthing process, although they may also have helped with other medical problems relating to women when needed.

Often, the midwife would call for the assistance of a physician when a more difficult birth was anticipated.

In many cases the midwife brought along two or three assistants.

In antiquity, it was believed by both midwives and physicians that a normal delivery was made easier when a woman sat upright.

Therefore, during parturition, midwives brought a stool to the home where the delivery was to take place.

In the seat of the birthstool was a crescent-shaped hole through which the baby would be delivered.

The birthstool or chair often had armrests for the mother to grasp during the delivery.

Most birthstools or chairs had backs which the patient could press against, but Soranus suggests that in some cases the chairs were backless and an assistant would stand behind the mother to support her.

The midwife sat facing the mother, encouraging and supporting her through the birth, perhaps offering instruction on breathing and pushing, sometimes massaging her vaginal opening, and supporting her perineum during the delivery of the baby.

The assistants may have helped by pushing downwards on the top of the mother's abdomen.