Published: 2022-12-30

How was the child to be attended in the first weeks of life? Recommendations of the authors of selected medieval medical treatises

Anna Głusiuk
Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings
Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2022.29.2.2

Abstract

The article discusses issues related to childcare in the first weeks of the baby’s life using selected medieval medical treatises as examples. Based on Liber de sinthomatibus mulierum and De curis mulierum attributed to Trotula of Salerno, who lived in the 11th/12th centuries, Ad mulieres ferrarienses de regimine pregnantium et noviter natorum usque ad septennium by Michael Savonarola and Régime du corps by Aldobrandin of Siena, it is presented how, according to medical knowledge of the time, babies should be cared for in their first weeks of life. The authors discussed a.o., how to cut the umbilical cord correctly, bathe the baby or, if necessary, choose a suitable wet nurse who would breastfeed the child instead of a mother.

Keywords:

Trotula, Aldobrandino of Siena, Michael Savonarola, childcare, Middle Ages

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Citation rules

Głusiuk, A. (2022). How was the child to be attended in the first weeks of life? Recommendations of the authors of selected medieval medical treatises. Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 29(2), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2022.29.2.2

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