The mortality statistics for women and newborns during that time are simply shocking.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many women preferred to give birth at home. It's worth noting that until 1914, there were no maternity hospitals, so the house would invite the grandmother of the birthing assistant.
As reported: Fakta.today
She would open the doors and windows wide and sprinkle sugar on the birth canal. According to the logic of the birthing assistant, babies love sugar, which means the baby will reach for it as well.
Shared delivery rooms
When maternity hospitals finally appeared, they were designed for 8–10 people. It's worth noting that 90% of doctors at that time had no medical education. Many women continued to give birth at home. Mortality statistics were very high: about 270 out of 1,000 babies died.
Twilight sleep method
Morphine and hallucinogenic drugs were used to anesthetize women during childbirth. This put the woman to sleep for the entire birthing process. Because the senses of the giving birth women were dulled as much as possible, this led to the death of the mother and her baby in many cases.
Abortions
In the 1920s, the USSR adopted a law allowing abortions. All the mother needed was a desire to have one. A few years later, the law was amended to allow abortions only for health reasons, but this did not prevent some doctors from performing "secret" abortions.
Abortions were often performed by people without medical education, leading to complications and worsening of women's health. Sometimes, if it was not possible to have an abortion, the newborn baby was simply killed.
Ultrasound
Because there were no ultrasound machines at the time, the gender of the baby was attempted to be determined by palpation of the hands and a special tube. This method, frankly, was debatable.
As we wrote earlier: "Requested that his appendix be returned to its place. Asked the doctors to drive the mermaids out of the blanket": what people say under anaesthesia
