positions and reasons

From the precious book "Birth: An Anthology of Ancient Texts, Songs, Prayers and Stories" edited by David Meltzer.

"The Position of the Private Parts

At the beginning of the world it had been the Creator's intention to place both men's and women's genitals on their foreheads so that they might be able to procreate children easily. But the otter made a mistake in conveying the message to that effect; and that is how the genitals came to be in the inconvenient place they are now in.

(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 12th July, 1886. Ainu/Northern Islands of Japan.)"

This was told to Basil H. Chamberlain, a British Japanologist active in the 19th century who did some of the earliest translations of Japanese haiku into English, like this one:

The old pond, aye! And the sound of a frog leaping into the water.

The Moirae

Imagine a birth in Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC. The Parthenon is complete and Athens is the most powerful political and cultural city-state in Europe. Democracy is becoming a solid practice and the power of the people is proving strong and effective. But in the aspect of birth, the people of Athens still leave it to the Gods. Moirae, or The Fate of the Three Sisters determines whether the baby will become a brilliant philosopher or a poor worker. Three days after a child is born, three goddesses enter the room to map out the little one's fate. Clotho spins life's thread; Lachesis measures it out; Atropos cuts the thread at life's end. Until the Moirae have decided a child is considered especially vulnerable. A lock of hair is given to the goddesses to insure a long and pleasant life. After the fate is determined, the baby is finally fully celebrated and a feast is had.

twilight sleep

Something especially horrible happened in the history of birth right around 1940. Male obstetricians were becoming more and more controlling of the process of birth and women wanted it their way; particularly those advocating women's rights. "Twilight Sleep" was brought to the market and almost instantly became the popular solution women were seeking. By becoming entirely sedated from a mixture of morphine and scopolamine, these new mothers felt they were taking control of their birth. It seems so backwards that being in the most passive position, sometimes even being strapped to the bed, felt like a gain of control. While the father was neglected and had no place in the delivery room for the process, the woman woke with a sleepy baby in her arms, both still doped up so that the baby could hardly breast feed, and recovery time was at least doubled. Sounds dreamy right?

the suckling..

Nursing was once so intimate, a real chance for precious mother-child bonding. From the book "Costume for Births, Marriages and Deaths" by Phillis Cunnington & Catherine Lucas.

a true medical mystery

Long ago, in August 1726, Mary Toft had an unfortunate miscarriage at her home in England. A miracle would change Mary's life the next month when she amazingly gave birth. Not to a child of course, but to a monstrous cat-like birth. Yikes! How could someone have given birth to a mystery cat creature with the spine of an eel? No one could explain it. In October, the first of 17 more animals would be born from Mary. What were these creatures? RABBITS!

Meet Mary Toft: The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits

This is a true story, documented thoroughly by respected physicians sent by King George I. In Mary's time, it was an accepted notion that a woman's environment, or even her imagination if vivid enough, could affect her offspring. Following the suggestion of her neighbors, a woman feeling feverish was holding a toad until it died to rid her of the fever. Her husband "requested" intercourse, and since she was still feverish she held the toad throughout. She then gave birth to a child with the face of a toad. In Mary's case, she claimed to have a recurring dream of being in a field and being approached by a rabbit that she followed but could never catch. "I must have made a burrough in my womb," I imagine her saying, coming off as a completely plausible explanation.

The physicians that came to document these miraculous births would observe that Mary was not with child, and when examining her closely, that she had not placed the rabbits inside herself. Mary would then cry out with pain and unbelievably birth a small rabbit. Her husband Joshua and neighbor Mary Gill were always present, being sure that the newly famed Mary was always receiving proper care. News of the extraordinary births spread throughout the town and many physicians were called to authenticate the claim.

Sir Richard Manningham was one of these doctors, and one of few skeptics of Mary's scandalous story. She was forced into isolation to be closely observed with no possibility of an assistant to sneak the rabbits in. After giving birth to 17 rabbits, when Mary entered isolation the births suddenly stopped. Sir Manningham promptly wrote a pamphlet titled, "An Exact Diary of What Was Observed Upon Close Attendance of Mary Toft, The Pretended Rabbit Breeder...". Mary was pressured to confess and eventually stated that it was her neighbor Mary Gill's idea. The Mary's got together and formulated the scam as a way to make enough money to live lavishly forever. Joshua was providing the rabbits, which many true rabbit breeders in the town admitted to later. Mary Toft would then kill the small rabbits, and in a savage and embarrassing act, secretly insert them into herself to "birth" moments later.

Mary was the hottest topic of the time, and even after her confession some physicians and most townsfolk believed the story to be true. The pamphlets are now collectors items, worth all the money Mary dreamed of. Imagine Paris Hilton going through such great measures to be gossiped about.... oh wait, isn't Nicole Ritchie pregnant??!

Read the Book: "The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits" by Clifford A. Pickover (a self-proclaimed polymath....)