Editing Obstetrics (section)

=== Before the 18th century ===
{{See also|Women's medicine in antiquity}}
Prior to the 18th and 19th centuries, [[midwifery]] was well established but obstetrics was not recognized as a specific medical specialty. However, the subject matter and interest in the [[female reproductive system]] and sexual practice can be traced back to Ancient Egypt<ref name= "McGrew_1985">{{cite book | vauthors = McGrew RE | title = Encyclopedia of Medical History | location = New York | publisher = McGraw-Hill Book Company | date = 1985 }}</ref>{{rp|122}} and Ancient Greece.<ref name="Hufnagel">{{cite book | vauthors = Hufnagel GL | title = A History of Women's Menstruation from Ancient Greece to the Twenty-first Century: Psychological, Social, Medical, Religious, and Educational Issues. | location= [[Lewiston, New York]] |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] | date = 2012 }}</ref>{{rp|11}} [[Soranus of Ephesus]] sometimes is called the most important figure in [[Surgery in Ancient Rome|ancient]] gynecology.<ref name="Challenges experienced by midwives"/> Living in the late first century AD and early second century, he studied anatomy and had opinions and techniques on abortion, contraception&nbsp;– most notably ''[[coitus interruptus|coitus interruptus&nbsp;]]''– and birth complications. After his death, techniques and works of gynecology declined; very little of his works were recorded and survived to the late 18th century when gynecology and obstetrics reemerged as a medical specialism.<ref name= "McGrew_1985" />{{rp|123}}