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Childbirth and obstetrics in classical antiquity (here meaning the ancient Greco-Roman world) were studied by the physicians of ancient Greece and Rome. Their ideas and practices during this time endured in Western medicine for centuries and many themes are seen in modern women's health.
Agnodice (Greek: Ἀγνοδίκη, pronounced [aŋnodíkɛː]; c. 4th century BCE) is a legendary figure said to be the first female midwife or physician in ancient Athens. Her story, originally told in the Fabulae (attributed to the Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus), has been used to illustrate issues surrounding women in medicine and ...
Metrodora (Ancient Greek: Μητροδώρα, romanized: Mētrodōra) was possibly the author of an ancient Greek medical text, On the Diseases and Cures of Women (Περὶ τῶν Γυναικείων παθῶν τῆς μἠτρας). She is known from a single Byzantine manuscript.
Ancient gynecologists also believed that the fetus could harm the mother's health. Hippocrates divided gestation into forty-day periods. The first period represented the time when the risk of miscarriage was the highest; during the last forty days, the fetus was thought to be the most active.
Ancient Greek medicine was a compilation of theories and practices that were constantly expanding through new ideologies and trials. The Greek term for medicine was iatrikē (Ancient Greek: ἰατρική). Many components were considered in ancient Greek medicine, intertwining the spiritual with
Arguably, the first Byzantine physician was the author of the Vienna Dioscurides manuscript, created circa 515 AD for Anicia Juliana, the daughter of Emperor Olybrius.Like most Byzantine physicians, this author drew his material from ancient authorities like Galen and Hippocrates, though Byzantine doctors expanded upon the knowledge preserved from Greek and Roman sources.
The use of emmenagogues (substances used to promote menstruation) was a key part of sexual health practices associated with fertility and humoral medicine in the early modern period. Aphrodisiacs and hot spices were used to warm up the womb, stimulating menstruation.
With Garioponto (who studied the ancient Latin writers who followed Hippocrates and Galen) Salernitan medicine begins its golden age. We see for the first time a woman, the famous Trotula de Ruggiero, who ascends to the honors of the chair, and gives instructions to women in labor. At the beginning of 1000 A.D. in Salerno there was a well ...