Obstetrical Forceps 1580 – The Conflict Between Life and the Desire for Money and Fame

Obstetrical forceps consist of two curved pieces of "metal" resembling two large spoons that surround the baby's head. The blades are then locked together so that they do not crush the baby's head, allowing the doctor to pull the baby through the birth canal during difficult deliveries and when the fetus or mother is in distress. Today, medical ultrasound can help confirm the exact position of the fetal head.

The English surgeon and obstetrician Peter Chamberlen is known for inventing particularly effective obstetrical forceps. Members of the Chamberlen family were careful to keep their successful delivery methods secret, so the exact date of the invention is unknown. For example, when one of the Chamberlens arrived at the home of a woman trying to give birth, two people carried a large box with gilded carvings containing the secret forceps, and the pregnant patient was blindfolded so that even she never saw the forceps. Ultimately, these forceps, with each loop-shaped blade able to be inserted separately to ensure an optimal fit, had a profound effect on successful deliveries.

Medical journalist Randi Epstein: "Unlike earlier devices, what the Chamberlens gave the world was a gentler device for bringing the baby out in one piece and alive. One Chamberlen said that the forceps eliminated the old saying, 'when a man comes into the birthing room, one or both must surely die.' He meant that before forceps, men entered the birthing room only when the laboring woman, the baby, or both were about to die."

However, historian Rebecca Vickers emphasizes the potentially lifesaving importance of sharing new technologies with the world: “The Chamberlens' development of forceps was a great success, with an innovative design that stood the test of time. It was also a great failure. By keeping such an important breakthrough to themselves and a small number of patients in one country, the Chamberlen family slowed medical progress and probably allowed thousands of women and children to die. The desire for money and fame prevailed over human life."

Description of the article image: An illustration of delivery with forceps in Ebelik Uygulamasının Açıklamaları ve Kısaltması ile Anatomik Tablo Seti (1754), by the English obstetrician William Smellie (1697–1763).

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Peter Chamberlen (1560–1631)

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