Editing Obstetrics (section)

=== Historical role of gender ===
Women and men inhabited very different roles in natal care up to the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Gender: A Historical Perspective 
| vauthors = Giuliano P | veditors = Averett SL, Argys LM, Hoffman SD | title = The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy. | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = May 2018 | doi = 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190628963.013.29 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The role of a physician was exclusively held by men who went to university, an overly male institution, who would theorize anatomy and the process of reproduction based on theological teaching and philosophy. Many beliefs about the female body and menstruation in the 17th and 18th centuries were inaccurate; clearly resulting from the lack of literature about the practice.<ref name= "McGrew_1985" />{{rp|123–125}} Many of the theories of what caused menstruation prevailed from Hippocratic philosophy.<ref name="Hufnagel"/>{{rp|16}} [[Midwives]], meaning "with woman", were those who assisted in the birth and care of both born and unborn children, a position historically held mainly by women.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = O'Malley-Keighran MP, Lohan G | title = Encourages and guides, or diagnoses and monitors: Woman centred-ness in the discourse of professional midwifery bodies | journal = Midwifery | volume = 43 | pages = 48–58 | date = December 2016 | pmid = 27846406 | doi = 10.1016/j.midw.2016.10.007 }}</ref>

During the birth of a child, men were rarely present. Women from the neighbourhood or family would join in on the process of birth and assist in many different ways.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Situation of women and children in Nigeria |url=https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/situation-women-and-children-nigeria |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=www.unicef.org |language=en}}</ref> The one position where men would help with the birth of a child would be in the sitting position, usually when performed on the side of a bed to support the mother.<ref name="Gelis" />{{rp|130}}

Men entered the field of obstetrics in the nineteenth century, resulting in a change of focus within the profession.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Bäcklund I | veditors = Kytö M, Rydén M, Smitterberg E |chapter = Modifiers describing women and men in nineteenth-century English | doi = 10.1017/cbo9780511486944.002 | title =Nineteenth-Century English | year = 2006 |pages=17–55 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn = 9780511486944 }}</ref> Gynecology developed as a new and separate field of study from obstetrics, focusing on the curing of illness and indispositions of female sexual organs,<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Adaikan G |editor1-first=Sabaratnam |editor1-last=Arulkumaran |editor2-first=William |editor2-last=Ledger |editor3-first=Lynette |editor3-last=Denny |editor4-first=Stergios |editor4-last=Doumouchtsis |chapter=Female sexual dysfunction |date= January 2020 | doi = 10.1093/med/9780198766360.003.0060 |title=Oxford Textbook of Obstetrics and Gynaecology |pages=743–752 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-876636-0 }}</ref> encompassing conditions such as menopause, uterine and cervical problems, and tissue damage as a result of childbirth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Uterine Prolapse: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment |url= https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16030-uterine-prolapse |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Cleveland Clinic}}</ref>