On Midwifery and the Diseases of Women

Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek physician of the 2nd century CE, was a leading figure in obstetrics and gynecology. His work, On Midwifery and the Diseases of Women, significantly influenced medical understanding for centuries.1

This text provided detailed descriptions of contraceptive methods, the obstetric chair, and podalic version (delivering a fetus feet first). It also included recognizable accounts of rickets and nervous disorders, with treatments that foreshadowed modern psychotherapy. Soranus's writings were a cornerstone of medical opinion regarding women's health, pregnancy, and infant care. His contributions were so advanced that some techniques were rediscovered and hailed as new in the 15th century.1