Is it true that a midwife is a person or an animal? Or maybe that's what they call a particular disease?
The midwife is an amphibian
In fact, there is such a toad on our planet. You can meet her in cities, and in forests, and in the mountains, and near clear lakes. A wide area of ​​distribution, where the midwife toad lives. It:
- Great Britain.
- Switzerland.
- Belgium.
- Spain.
- Portugal.
- France.
- Netherlands.
- Luxembourg.
- Germany.
A medium-sized, wart-covered amphibian reaches only 5 centimeters. Relate it to the family of round-speaking.
This toad got its name, most likely, due to the fact that the eggs, from which the tadpoles later hatch, are sort of packed in long ribbons. The male wraps these ribbons around his hips - thus, the future offspring is constantly under the supervision of a caring dad.
Umbilical cord umbilical
And here is a profession with that name in ancient times. So who is a midwife? What did she do?
If you translate the name into modern language, then the midwife is a midwife. That is, in antiquity there was a sort of woman who knew how to deal with certain gynecological diseases, was able to take birth, bandage the umbilical cord of a baby. That is why they often called her not only the successor, because she received the baby from the womb of the mother, but also the grandmother, the umbilical and the female umbilical, since the procedure for cutting the umbilical cord and processing it was also assigned to the healer.
Related words
Having defined the meaning of the word “midwife”, we can continue the synonymous series. It turns out, as the dictionaries say, this includes lexical units such as a drinker, a drinker, a midwife, a midwife, and a midwife. Often the noun “grandmother” or “woman” was added to the definitions with the listed roots. For example, they said: “A midwife came!” Sometimes this word was used with the application of the above. For example, one could say “grandmother-companion” or “woman midwife”.
Yes, and in the case when the application was omitted, no one had any doubt as to who was in question.
"A little pot-bellied! Soon I’ll have to call the grandmother! ” whispered the gossips at the well. And it was not worth specifying: we are talking about a pregnant neighbor, in whom, probably, the birth of a baby was expected soon. “Grandma to call” - meant to seek help from a midwife. The midwife is the one who helped a woman become a mother.
And today, sometimes a negligent gynecologist has to listen: "Yes, you are not a doctor, but a midwife!" The speaker, apparently, implies that the doctor does not have modern knowledge.
Thus, “midwife”, “obstetrician”, “gynecologist” are also in some way words of this synonymous series.
Midwife Requirements
This is now a midwife in order to start working in this area, it is enough to have a diploma in your pocket. Even work experience is not needed. And before this was not the case.
The young nulliparous girl did not have to take birth alone. Not without reason, in the very name of the profession was an indication of age - "midwife." Who was that called? An elderly woman with children. Moreover, they must all be alive. The “woman” herself in many villages only then had the right to fulfill the role of a midwife if she did not live sexually and already “laundered”, that is, her periods have already stopped.
Often the midwife used not only her ability to take birth, but also conspiracies, prayers. She seemed to combine the roles of a midwife and a healer.
Certified midwife - nonsense or rule?
Of course, in ancient times, often took part in the birth of the grandmother, who received the skills from their parents.
But along with this already in the middle of the 18th century in Russia there were educational institutions that train medical personnel in this area. “Midwifery institutes” provided higher education, “midwifery schools” - secondary. Moreover, the specialist with higher medical education was proudly called the “midwife”. But after the midwifery school, only “rural midwives” came out.
In this connection, the meaning of the word “midwife” can also be regulated. And its definition will somewhat surprise linguists. After all, it turns out that the midwife had the lowest rank, since she received an extramural education.
That's how the dictionaries turn out to be lying, putting the “midwife” on a par with the “midwife”! It’s the same as calling a doctor a nurse or paramedic.
After the revolution of 1917, these educational institutions were reorganized. And the medical workers in the field of obstetric care ceased to call midwives and midwives, since they no longer made any gender differences among the medical workers, nor did anyone look at age.
Interesting facts about midwives
- There was a special position under the staff of the police department, which was referred to only as the "midwife". Naturally, her activity was strictly regulated by the “Charter of midwives.”
- In villages where the Nikonians and Old Believers lived together, which in no way should have crossed each other (even using the common well was contraindicated, especially the dishes), they nevertheless turn to the same grandmother. This is not a sin.
- After giving birth, the grandmother usually watches the woman in labor and the baby for three days — either living with her or visiting her daily. In some special cases, the midwife replaces the patient, caring for her and the child, taking care of other children, if any. There were times when the grandmother took all the management of the woman in labor and took him until the hostess returned to normal.
- The midwife must necessarily take part in the weddings of her children. If she did not live to see such an event, then her daughter should be present instead. The word "winding" itself goes back to the wedding rite - laying on the head of a newly made wife of the charge. The midwife, in other words, helps the damsel to "stoop".