Birthing girdle

== Background ==

== Background ==

In the Middle Ages, childbirth was very dangerous. It is thought to have been the leading cause of death for women in Early Medieval England. In 11th century [[Norwich]], for example, [[infant mortality]] was 60% and the average woman died aged 33.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Rawcliffe |first=C. |title=Women and religion in medieval England |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2003 |editor-last=Wood |editor-first=D. |location=Oxford |pages=91–117 |language=en |chapter=Women, childbirth, and religion in later medieval England}}</ref> [[Obstetric labor complication|Complications]] were common and the risk of [[Postpartum infections|post-partum infection]] was high, especially during periods of [[Plague (disease)|plague]] which increased mortality considerably.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fleck-Derderian |first1=Shannon |last2=Nelson |first2=Christina A |last3=Cooley |first3=Katharine M |last4=Russell |first4=Zachary |last5=Godfred-Cato |first5=Shana |last6=Oussayef |first6=Nadia L |last7=Oduyebo |first7=Titilope |last8=Rasmussen |first8=Sonja A |last9=Jamieson |first9=Denise J |last10=Meaney-Delman |first10=Dana |date=2020-05-21 |title=Plague During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |url=https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/70/Supplement_1/S30/5841437 |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |volume=70 |issue= 70 Suppl 1|pages=30–36 |doi=10.1093/cid/ciz1228 |issn=1058-4838|doi-access=free |pmid=32435806 }}</ref>

In the Middle Ages, childbirth was very dangerous. It is thought to have been the leading cause of death for women in early medieval England. In 11th-century [[Norwich]], for example, [[infant mortality]] was 60% and the average woman died aged 33.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Rawcliffe |first=C. |title=Women and religion in medieval England |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2003 |editor-last=Wood |editor-first=D. |location=Oxford |pages=91–117 |language=en |chapter=Women, childbirth, and religion in later medieval England}}</ref> [[Obstetric labor complication|Complications]] were common and the risk of [[Postpartum infections|post-partum infection]] was high, especially during periods of [[Plague (disease)|plague]] which increased mortality considerably.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fleck-Derderian |first1=Shannon |last2=Nelson |first2=Christina A |last3=Cooley |first3=Katharine M |last4=Russell |first4=Zachary |last5=Godfred-Cato |first5=Shana |last6=Oussayef |first6=Nadia L |last7=Oduyebo |first7=Titilope |last8=Rasmussen |first8=Sonja A |last9=Jamieson |first9=Denise J |last10=Meaney-Delman |first10=Dana |date=2020-05-21 |title=Plague During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review |url=https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/70/Supplement_1/S30/5841437 |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |volume=70 |issue= 70 Suppl 1|pages=30–36 |doi=10.1093/cid/ciz1228 |issn=1058-4838|doi-access=free |pmid=32435806 }}</ref>

As well as fearing for their physical health, women had to worry about their spiritual health should they die during childbirth. Because childbirth was considered a polluted situation, women needed to undergo a cleansing ritual called [[Churching of women|churching]] before returning to religious spaces. Her death before this was completed could affect the future of her soul. According to Church doctrine, however, the greater priority for [[Midwife|midwives]] was ensuring that the child was [[Baptism|baptised]], even if it died before entirely leaving the womb, to avoid it being trapped in [[limbo]].<ref name=":2" />

As well as fearing for their physical health, women had to worry about their spiritual health should they die during childbirth. Because childbirth was considered a polluted situation, women needed to undergo a cleansing ritual called [[Churching of women|churching]] before returning to religious spaces. Her death before this was completed could affect the future of her soul. According to Church doctrine, however, the greater priority for [[Midwife|midwives]] was ensuring that the child was [[Baptism|baptised]], even if it died before entirely leaving the womb, to avoid it being trapped in [[limbo]].<ref name=":2" />

Birthing girdles are a lineage of Christian, pagan, and hybrid religious charms dating to the pre-Medieval period. Surviving [[Anglo-Saxon metrical charms]] include a poem [[For Delayed Birth|"For delayed birth"]] but these texts drew their power from being spoken aloud not from contact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Weston |first=L. M. C. |date=1995 |title=Women's Medicine, Women's Magic: The Old English Metrical Childbirth Charms |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/438781 |journal=Modern Philology |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=279–281 |doi=10.1086/392249 |jstor=438781 |hdl=10211.3/170275 |issn=0026-8232|hdl-access=free }}</ref> Closer parallels can be found with [[History of the Eastern Orthodox Church#Byzantine period|Byzanto-Christian]] [[amulet]]s from before the 7th-century, many of which still survive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Skemer |first=Don C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm61131805 |title=Binding words: textual amulets in the Middle Ages |date=2006 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-02722-7 |series=Magic in history |location=University Park, Pa |pages=28 |oclc=ocm61131805}}</ref> These can be connected to the Egyptian amulet tradition which goes back to at least the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom (c.1700 BC)]].{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=2}}

Birthing girdles are a lineage of Christian, pagan, and hybrid religious charms dating to the pre-Medieval period. Surviving [[Anglo-Saxon metrical charms]] include a poem [[For Delayed Birth|"For delayed birth"]] but these texts drew their power from being spoken aloud not from contact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Weston |first=L. M. C. |date=1995 |title=Women's Medicine, Women's Magic: The Old English Metrical Childbirth Charms |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/438781 |journal=Modern Philology |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=279–281 |doi=10.1086/392249 |jstor=438781 |hdl=10211.3/170275 |issn=0026-8232|hdl-access=free }}</ref> Closer parallels can be found with [[History of the Eastern Orthodox Church#Byzantine period|Byzanto-Christian]] [[amulet]]s from before the 7th-century, many of which still survive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Skemer |first=Don C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm61131805 |title=Binding words: textual amulets in the Middle Ages |date=2006 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-02722-7 |series=Magic in history |location=University Park, Pa |pages=28 |oclc=ocm61131805}}</ref> These can be connected to the Egyptian amulet tradition which goes back to at least the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom (c.1700 BC)]].{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=2}}

Despite being a legacy of [[Paganism|pagan religions]] and initially resisted by church fathers like [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]], Christian theology gradually embraced charms over the course of the [[High Middle Ages]].{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=31, 73}} Increasing lay literacy rates led to ever higher demand,{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=2}} and by the 13th-century the Church offered a wide array of talismans, amulets, and [[relic]]s to those in need, including pregnant women. However, surviving records show that birthing girdles were the most commonly loaned.{{Sfn|Fiddyment et al.|2021|p=2}}[[File:Oxford Bodlian MS Rolls 26.jpg|thumb|Oxford Bodlian MS Roll 26 (16th century). Although not specifically a birthing girdle, this demonstrates how such rolls might have been worn. ]] [[Girdle]]s in various forms were a common part of [[Early medieval European dress|Medieval clothing]] into the 15th century, acting like a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]], but they were normally woven or made of [[leather]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 August 2006 |title=Girdle ca. 1450 |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O126649/girdle-unknown/ |access-date=18 February 2025 |website=V&A}}</ref>

Despite being a legacy of [[Paganism|pagan religions]] and initially resisted by church fathers like [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]], Christian theology gradually embraced charms over the course of the [[High Middle Ages]].{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=31, 73}} Increasing lay literacy rates led to ever higher demand,{{Sfn|Skemer|2006|p=2}} and by the 13th century the Church offered a wide array of talismans, amulets, and [[relic]]s to those in need, including pregnant women. However, surviving records show that birthing girdles were the most commonly loaned.{{Sfn|Fiddyment et al.|2021|p=2}}[[File:Oxford Bodlian MS Rolls 26.jpg|thumb|Oxford Bodlian MS Roll 26 (16th century). Although not specifically a birthing girdle, this demonstrates how such rolls might have been worn. ]] [[Girdle]]s in various forms were a common part of [[Early medieval European dress|Medieval clothing]] into the 15th century, acting like a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]], but they were normally woven or made of [[leather]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 August 2006 |title=Girdle ca. 1450 |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O126649/girdle-unknown/ |access-date=18 February 2025 |website=V&A}}</ref>

== Design ==

== Design ==