It is made from wood, padded leather and iron. The seat shape allows a
clear route for the emerging baby and access for those assisting the
birth.
The chair is also known as a parturition chair. They were used from
ancient times until the 1800s. The grooved parts on the bottom of the
frame were used for leg rests, which the mother would use for support
and to press against. Some birthing chairs have low centres of gravity
so the mother can squat and still be supported by the chair.
This chair has a reclining back, which is demonstrated in a second photograph at the
source. From the Science and Society Picture Library at the
Science Museum London. Image cropped and brightened from the original. Via
Neatorama.
I wonder if the dadoes on the insides of the bottom rails were to hold some type of pan which would be slid into place for catching amniotic fluid, etc. They don't look necessary for structural support.
ReplyDeleteAs the text says, "The grooved parts on the bottom of the frame were used for leg rests..."
DeleteD'oh! Thanks Stan - Must be occupational blindness: "the grooved parts" didn't register with me, as I think of them as dadoes. Can't see the forest for the trees!
DeleteBirthing chairs are still in use. MY wife is a midwife, and in the birth center that she used to work in there was the modern equivalent of this chair.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pearse. I just did a Google Image search and found a wide variety of styles of modern ones.
Delete