A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery. 3rd ed. corrected

Creator

Date

1756

Identifier

Health Sciences Historical Collection WQA S638

Type

Publisher

London: Printed for D. Wilson and T. Durham

Abstract

William Smellie (1697-1763) has been called the ‘Father of British Obstetrics’. After an apprenticeship to an apothecary in Scotland, he went to sea as a surgeon’s mate. Smellie then moved to London and specialised in midwifery. He was a teacher to William Hunter (1718-83), the leading obstetrician of the Georgian period. Smellie was a strong believer in non-interference where possible, and the first to describe resuscitation of the newborn by blowing into its lungs. Here, he is describing the effects of rickets in softening the pelvic bones leading to deformity that can interfere with childbirth.

Files

Cab 8 smellie.jpg

Tags

Citation

William Smellie, “A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery. 3rd ed. corrected,” ourheritage.ac.nz | OUR Heritage, accessed November 6, 2024, https://ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/11029.