Birthing girdle shows traces of medieval women in labor
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While they don t know how they were worn, recent biological analysis of a medievel birthing girdle confirms that women wore them including the one pictured, which includes prayers for delivery and birth. Photo courtesy of Wellcome Collection
In medieval Europe, when childbirth was highly perilous for both mother and child, women and those caring for them used various talismans to try to influence a safe delivery.
Not many of those relics have survived, but scientists have been studying one a parchment birthing girdle using non-invasive sampling and protein analysis.
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Illustrations of a medieval 12th century girdle (left) and a 15th century girdle by Percy Anderson for English fashion writer Eliza Davis’ 1906 book Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical. PUBLIC DOMAIN
Medieval girdle likely part of birthing ritual
Fri, 12 March 2021
A 15th century “birthing girdle”, inscribed with prayers and a well-thumbed crucifix image, was likely actively used in medieval childbirth, according to new research on one of the few such sashes not destroyed by time or religious revolutionaries.
With a delicate technique that uses the crumbs from plastic eraser rubbings, scientists were able to identify biological marks on the fragile sheepskin parchment.
When you don’t have epidurals, when midwives recommend praying to dragon-killing saints rather than breathing exercises and when half the women you know died in childbirth, you’ll give anything a go.
The team found direct evidence they were used during childbirth as they had cervico-vaginal fluid proteins inside a 15th century birthing girdle parchment.