Hall of Fame
From Ancient Greek origins to the creator of the ultrasound, ten people who helped develop the practice of midwifery
Angélique du Coudray
Angélique du Coudray became a registered midwife in Paris in 1740. At the time, the state of France’s childbirth was dire, with some estimates of about 200,000 babies dying in the country per year. Du Coudray soon became highly regarded in her field and, on the orders of Louis XV, she set about educating other midwives – particularly in France’s poorer, rural areas. One of du Coudray’s innovations was the creation of a life-sized birthing mannequin (purportedly using real pelvic bones) for teaching, which she named simply ‘La Machine’.
MARY CRONK
One of Britain’s best known midwives, according to her obituary in the Guardian, Mary Cronk developed a reputation for standing up to obstetricians who required all patients to have episiotomies. Cronk very quickly became a highly regarded teacher, despite having no formal qualifications – all her expertise came from experience. In particular she became known as an expert in breech births, when a baby is born feet first rather than the head. In 1998 she was awarded an MBE for her services to midwifery and continued to teach up to 2016, two years before her death at age 86.
JANE SHARP
Jane Sharp was the author of The Midwives Book: or the Whole Art of Midwifery Discovered, at the time where midwives themselves rarely wrote books on their craft. Very little information is known about Sharp herself, though she states within the text that she had practised as a midwife for 30 years. Sharp’s manual received several editions, with the fourth and final published in 1725, and was immensely popular.
WILLIAM SMELLIE
Although invented by Peter Chamberlen, Smellie is credited with redesigning the obstetrical forceps. Smellie himself however was an advocate for natural birth, believing that the forceps should only be used when necessary. He taught students and would deliver the babies of poor patients for free if his students were allowed to witness the birth. He has been described by the Science Museum Group as: “The most significant figure in the development of obstetrics and midwifery in the 1700s”.
