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<\/p>\nIn ancient Egypt, there were no specific terms for a midwife, obstetrician, or gynecologist, but this does not mean that these activities were not practiced. Midwifery appeared in various forms. In rural settings, the midwife was a friend, neighbor, and\/or family member who helped deliver the child. In higher and wealthier classes, the midwife was usually a servant or caregiver who already lived in the household. During this time, midwives had no formal education. Learning was based on apprenticeship, with knowledge passed from family member to family member or from friend to friend. A midwife’s work included providing emotional support, encouragement, medical care, and religious assistance, as well as protecting women throughout their lives. Egyptian midwives focused on pregnancy, childbirth, fertility, and contraception (Thiele, 2002). <\/p>\n
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FIRST IMAGE<\/u>: A woman giving birth in a squatting position, assisted by goddesses (Hathor and Taweret); from the Temple of Dendera of the goddess Hathor.<\/p>\n
Woman as a mother<\/strong><\/p>\n For Egyptian women, pregnancy involved a whole range of tasks. Magical spells were believed to ward off evil forces. The pregnant woman’s body was anointed with soothing oils. These precautionary measures were accompanied by constant medical care. Childbirth took place in special huts arranged to resemble the papyrus thickets where Isis, protected from evil forces, gave birth to Horus. Immediately after birth, where midwives were present, a wet nurse helped the mother overcome various difficulties. The first important step was choosing a name\u2014one for everyday use and another, a true name, which signified the child’s true essence. In this process, the mother or another woman providing advice used clairvoyant abilities. Every name had a special meaning and gave a specific direction to the life of its bearer (Holub, ND). <\/p>\n Most Egyptian women therefore gave birth on the cool roof of their home, in a garden gazebo, or a special papyrus pavilion decorated with grapevines. In “Ptolemaic” times, women of higher classes gave birth in birth houses attached to temples. Birthing positions were standing, kneeling, squatting, or sitting on their heels on birth bricks, or sitting on a birth chair. The midwife was in front of the laboring woman to assist with the delivery and catch the baby. Two other women or midwives were positioned at the sides, holding the woman’s hands and arms and encouraging her during pushing. Sometimes the midwife placed hot water under the birth chair, as the steam was thought to ease the birth. The birth bricks used during labor were approximately 36×18 cm and decorated with colorful motifs of childbirth. Birth chairs were made of brick and had a hole in the middle. They were decorated with the owner’s hieroglyphic inscriptions and painted with scenes of the mother, child, and goddesses (Thiele, 2002). <\/p>\n Since childbirth could pose a danger to both mother and child, midwives in ancient Egypt turned to goddesses and gods for help and protection. The goddesses and gods believed to help during childbirth were Hathor, Bes, Taweret, Meskhenet, Khnum, Thoth, and Amun. <\/p>\n Hathor<\/strong><\/em> was the goddess-protector of women and domestic bliss and watched over women who gave birth. Bes<\/strong><\/em> warded off all evil things surrounding the mother and child. Taweret<\/strong><\/em> was the main deity for women during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Meskhenet<\/em><\/strong> was depicted in the form of a birth brick with a human head and offered strength and support to the woman during labor. Khnum<\/strong><\/em> was the divine creator who gave health to newborns after birth. The god Thoth<\/strong><\/em> helped with the delivery, while the god Amun<\/strong><\/em> helped with severe pain during labor by blowing a cool northern wind. <\/p>\n Statues of goddesses and gods were placed around the room and painted on the walls, bricks, and chairs used by laboring women. Another way Egyptian midwives called for the help and protection of “higher powers” during labor was by placing a magic ivory wand, decorated with carvings of deities, snakes, lions, and crocodiles, on the woman’s abdomen (Thiele, 2002). <\/p>\n On papyri (Ebers, Kahun, Berlin, Carlsberg), there are many descriptions of tests and methods for determining fertility, pregnancy, and contraception used by ancient Egyptian midwives and women (Thiele, 2002).<\/p>\n Contraception:<\/strong><\/p>\n – Sunflowers and honey used for their contraceptive properties.<\/p>\n – Cotton soaked in a paste of dates and acacia, which is then inserted into the vagina.<\/p>\n – Acacia, carob, and dates are ground and mixed with honey, then inserted into the vagina.<\/p>\n Infertility treatment:<\/strong><\/p>\n – The woman squats over a hot mixture of sacred incense, oil, dates, and beer, letting the vapors rise into her.<\/p>\n Pregnancy test:<\/strong><\/p>\n – Barley and emmer wheat seeds: the woman moistened them daily with urine, as well as dates and sand in two bags. If the barley sprouts, she will be pregnant with a boy; if the emmer wheat sprouts, she will be pregnant with a girl; if neither sprouts, she will not be pregnant. <\/p>\n – Examination of blood vessels above the breasts: They cleaned the breasts, arms, and shoulders with fresh oil. Early in the morning, if her blood vessels looked fresh and good, she would conceive. If the vessels were green and dark, conception would be delayed. <\/p>\n – Women were given milk from a woman who was already carrying a male child. The milk was mixed with melon puree. If the woman became ill after drinking the concoction, it meant she was pregnant. <\/p>\n Inducing labor:<\/strong><\/p>\n – A layer of sea salt, emmer wheat, and sediment from the Nile River is placed on the laboring woman’s abdomen.<\/p>\n Uterine contractions<\/strong><\/p>\n – A mixture of the “kheper-wer” plant, honey, carob water, and milk, placed in the vagina.<\/p>\n Spells to help with birth:<\/strong><\/p>\n – “Come down, placenta, come down! I am Horus, who enables the one giving birth to become better than if she had already given birth… look, Hathor will place her hand on her, with an amulet of health! I am Horus who will save her!<\/em>” (The spell is repeated four times over a Bes amulet placed on the forehead of the woman giving birth.)<\/p>\n – “Make the heart of the laboring woman strong and keep alive the one who is coming!”<\/em><\/p>\n SECOND IMAGE<\/u>: A woman holding a child with her left hand, picking a fig (from a 25th Dynasty relief in the tomb of Montemhet on the West Bank in Luxor). <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Porod v 16. stoletju – Azte\u0161ka babica<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"second\"](\"https:\/\/mojababica.si\/noviteta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/druga.jpg\")
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