There is a persistent myth that, when anaesthesia first became available in the nineteenth century, clerics said it should not be used to lessen the pain of childbirth because God had ordained women's suffering as a punishment for the sin of Eve. Well, perhaps the odd misogynist divine actually did say that, but it is more of a surprise to find quite a sizable number of people today still agree.
Last week, some research was published that showed first-time mothers are willing to accept greater risks for a 'natural' birth than the health professionals who care for them. My conclusion from this was that first-time mothers had no idea what they had let themselves in for, largely because there is a conspiracy of silence about just how difficult giving birth can be. All the literature talks about 'discomfort' or sometimes 'great discomfort'. But that is pure euphemism. For 'great discomfort' read 'red hot poker up your nether regions agony'. For the second child, mothers, who now know of what they speak, are much more likely to opt for an epidural or C-section. That's sensible, especially if they have previously experienced what one friend of my wife called "an all-night screamer."
The trouble is that the editor of the scientific journal in which the research appeared said women were right to take risks for a natural birth. I could hardly believe it. I know there are earth mother types who insist on home birthing and feel all virtuous about it. But for a health professional to take this weird view worried me. No surprise to find she got support from the Guardian's opinion pages.
There is a school of thought that men are not allowed an opinion on giving birth. But when some women are so determined to make their sisters go through severe pain for no particular reason beyond loosely formed ideas of virtue, I think we all need to speak out.
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Welcome to Quodlibeta
The Latin word Quodlibeta means "whatever you like" and refers to the special occasions at medieval universities when the students (or clerks as they were known) could test their masters by asking any question they fancied. This blog is primarily concerned with religion, science, history and their interface. But like the medieval clerks, we reserve the right to post on anything we want.
Meet the Clerks
James Hannam
I am a historian of the relationship between science and religion, and also write on the UK tax system. My first book was published as God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science in the UK and The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution in the US. My apologetics website is Bede's Library. I am also the author What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax and write about tax at my other blog. I can be found on Twitter as @DrJamesHannam.
Humphrey Clarke
I am a historian of a very middling and amateurish sort. Having taken a Masters in Modern History at the University of St Andrews (2004), I completed a law conversion course at Nottingham Law School and embarked upon what has been an exciting career in legal technology. My chief interests are in Twentieth Century History, Colonial America, Historiography and, most recently, the History of Science. I also write a satirical blog at The Diary of Humphrey Clarke. I hope my contributions to Quodlibeta capture something of the pleasure I get from trawling my dusty collection of second hand history books.
Jim S
I have a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Master's degrees in Philosophy and Theology. I'm a generalist, my areas of expertise being epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and science and religion. I did my philosophical studies in Continental Europe, and currently reside in the Pacific Northwest. I also write the Agent Intellect blog. In my mid-20s I decided to refute Christianity to set my conscience at ease. Two subjects I turned to in particular were science and philosophy. I accidentally argued myself into it.
I am a historian of the relationship between science and religion, and also write on the UK tax system. My first book was published as God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science in the UK and The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution in the US. My apologetics website is Bede's Library. I am also the author What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax and write about tax at my other blog. I can be found on Twitter as @DrJamesHannam.
Humphrey Clarke
I am a historian of a very middling and amateurish sort. Having taken a Masters in Modern History at the University of St Andrews (2004), I completed a law conversion course at Nottingham Law School and embarked upon what has been an exciting career in legal technology. My chief interests are in Twentieth Century History, Colonial America, Historiography and, most recently, the History of Science. I also write a satirical blog at The Diary of Humphrey Clarke. I hope my contributions to Quodlibeta capture something of the pleasure I get from trawling my dusty collection of second hand history books.
Jim S
I have a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Master's degrees in Philosophy and Theology. I'm a generalist, my areas of expertise being epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and science and religion. I did my philosophical studies in Continental Europe, and currently reside in the Pacific Northwest. I also write the Agent Intellect blog. In my mid-20s I decided to refute Christianity to set my conscience at ease. Two subjects I turned to in particular were science and philosophy. I accidentally argued myself into it.
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