Posted on Mar 29, 2022
Statue celebrates 'Mothers of Gynecology' at Black women's birthing conference
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https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/ [login to see] /statue-celebrates-mothers-of-gynecology-at-black-womens-birthing-conference
Birth professionals from around the country gathered in Montgomery, Ala., to heal, to learn and to honor the lives and sacrifices of three women: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, the Mothers of Gynecology.
These towering mothers built of scrap metal were the cornerstone of a two-day conference in late February centered on Black maternal health inside Old Ship A.M.E Zion Church.
"There's so much that people don't know about," says Dr. Veronica Maria Pimentel, an obstetrician gynecologist based in Hartford, Ct., who began a petition two years ago asking those in her field to recognize the contributions of Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey.
"The history is told from the point of view of those in power and those who were in power were men and those who were in power were also white," she says. "And we're talking about women, we're talking specifically about Black women, and we're talking about enslaved Black women. So it is important for us to go back and look at this history because the history informs what we're doing today when we talk about inequalities in health care."
Birth professionals from around the country gathered in Montgomery, Ala., to heal, to learn and to honor the lives and sacrifices of three women: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, the Mothers of Gynecology.
These towering mothers built of scrap metal were the cornerstone of a two-day conference in late February centered on Black maternal health inside Old Ship A.M.E Zion Church.
"There's so much that people don't know about," says Dr. Veronica Maria Pimentel, an obstetrician gynecologist based in Hartford, Ct., who began a petition two years ago asking those in her field to recognize the contributions of Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey.
"The history is told from the point of view of those in power and those who were in power were men and those who were in power were also white," she says. "And we're talking about women, we're talking specifically about Black women, and we're talking about enslaved Black women. So it is important for us to go back and look at this history because the history informs what we're doing today when we talk about inequalities in health care."
Statue celebrates 'Mothers of Gynecology' at Black women's birthing conference
Posted from npr.org
Montgomery
Art
Pregnancy
American History
Health
Posted >1 y ago
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Interesting share. The only problem I have is the modern speculum may have been invented by Sims but it’s history dates back to 7 AD. Romans were pretty advanced and surgical instruments from Rome are recognizable in shape and similar modern use. These include instruments for eye surgery. http://research.sklarcorp.com/the-vaginal-speculum-from-its-unearthed-secrets-to-our-modern-times
The Vaginal Speculum: from its unearthed secrets to our modern times
The vag spec used today has a long history, dating back to ancient Rome. Doctors who lived before the Vesuvius eruption were the first to manufacture this tool.
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One has to remember when reading this that prior to 1842 or 1849, depending on who you believed invented anesthesia to enable surgery, there was no anesthesia. Even after the discovery/invention of Anesthesia its use was not wide spread. During the civil war anesthesia was rarely used. The anesthesia was 4 strong men to hold the patient still. The conditions Sims treated, ano-vaginal and bladder- vaginal fistulas, still occur in third world countries and condemn women to being ostracized from family and community life. That slaves were involved really mucks up the water. We do have to put some of this in context to the time. Naked examination of female bodies was not common during this period and midwifery was the predominant care of women during child birth. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2563360/
The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record
Vesicovaginal fistula was a catastrophic complication of childbirth among 19th century American women. The first consistently successful operation for this condition was developed by Dr J Marion Sims, an Alabama surgeon who carried out a series of experimental ...
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LTC David Brown
I first became aware of anal vaginal fistulas when a Christian medical group was raising funds to go over seas to provide treatment to the unfortunate victims of this condition. https://www.ics.org/committees/developingworld/publicawareness/obstetricfistulaanintroduction
OBSTETRIC FISTULA IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: AN INTRODUCTION
Obstetric Fistula in the Developing World: An Introduction
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MAJ Roland McDonald
Every historical evaluation has to be looked at in context to the time frame and the conditions at that time frame. Looking at history using today's eyesight will cause us to not learn from history and therefore we will repeat it.
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LTC David Brown
MAJ Roland McDonald - Thank you. That is my point exactly. Some people want to look at Sims as a brutal masochistic racial misogynistic person. In the context of the time he cured women of a terrible condition that still condemns women to a life of isolation from family and community in third world areas.
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