Obstetrics is the branch of medicine dedicated to the care of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.
Obstetrics is the branch of medicine that deals with pregnancy , childbirth and the postpartum period (the period from childbirth until the woman returns to her pre-pregnancy state). The term comes from the Latin obstetricĭa .
Obstetricians are responsible not only for the physical condition of the mother and her baby, but also for the psychological and social factors linked to motherhood . It should be noted that in some countries, obstetrics is known as midwifery . The specialist in this health science, therefore, may also be called a midwife .
Obstetrics and prenatal check-ups
Prenatal check-ups carried out by obstetricians allow the health of the woman and her child to be looked after so that the delivery takes place normally. During prenatal care, it is usual for the obstetrician to instruct the mother (especially if she is a first-time mother) on responsible procreation and family planning .
In certain cases, the obstetrician may order labor induction if he or she sees risks to continuing the pregnancy. Induction can usually be performed at any time from 24 weeks of gestation, although giving birth to a premature baby also entails health risks.
As for the birth itself, this can be done vaginally (which is called natural birth ) or by Caesarean section (a surgical incision in the abdomen and uterus to extract the fetus). In both cases, the obstetrician will work with the gynecologist.
In a birth, the obstetrics specialist works alongside a gynecologist.
Its social importance
Having said all this, it is clear that obstetrics has great importance in modern society, both for pregnant women and for every child who comes into this world in a hospital , since it is the professional area that is responsible for the health of future mothers throughout the entire process, from preconception to postconception, including the care of newborns.
It is precisely because of this importance that science has devoted so many resources throughout history to making progress in this field. Before continuing, it is necessary to clarify slightly that there is a difference between obstetrics and gynecology : the latter is a subspecialty that deals with diseases of the uterus, vagina and ovaries. Experts say that it is correct to say that every obstetrician is also a gynecologist, but the same does not occur the other way around.
Obstetrics throughout history
In prehistoric times, women did not have the support that obstetricians and other specialists offer today, but had to deal with the entire pregnancy and even the birth on their own. In fact, it is believed that when the time came to give birth, they would go to the water to wash themselves and their baby . As for the pain, they had to endure it in silence so as not to alert predators. Their position was also not similar to today's, but rather they would squat.
In the Ebers Papyrus , one of the oldest preserved scientific documents in medicine, we can read that births in Ancient Egypt were directed by groups of women who had already given birth, who offered their advice to new mothers and also prescribed them medicines to treat different disorders in the uterus and vagina.
In Ancient Greece , on the other hand, women also assisted women in labor, although with an authority that brought them closer to modern obstetrics. The first school of obstetrics emerged only in the 16th century , in France ; by then, men had already achieved exclusivity in the field of surgery .