Like the mother, childbirth wasn’t a picnic for the baby, either. In order to get it to breathe, noted obstetrician Dr. Smellie recommended the baby be “moved, shaken, whipt [author’s italics]: the head, temples, and breast rubbed with spirits, garlic, onions or mustard applied to the mouth and nose.” If that didn’t work, then he suggested blowing into the mouth to expand the lungs. Early CPR, aye?
By 1700, forceps had just been invented for assisting with the removal of the infant or its corpse.
(Picard, 158)
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