Jesse Bennet (1769–1842)Jesse Bennet practiced medicine in the US during the late eighteenth century and performed one of the first successful cesarean operations, later called cesarean sections, in 1794. Following complications during his wife’s childbirth, Bennet made an incision through her lower abdomen and
uterus to deliver their infant. Bennet’s biographers report that his operation was the first cesarean section where both the pregnant woman and the infant survived. Previously, physicians used cesarean sections to save the
fetus from a pregnant woman who had already died during childbirth.
De Monstruorum Causis, Natura et Differentiis (On the Reasons, Nature and Differences of Monsters) (1616), by Fortunio LicetiIn 1616 in Padua, Italy, Fortunio Liceti, a professor of natural philosophy and medicine, wrote and published the first edition of
De Monstruorum Causis, Natura et Differentiis (On the Reasons, Nature, and Differences of Monsters), hereafter
De monstruorum. In
De monstruorum, Liceti chronologically documented cases of human and animal monsters from antiquity to the seventeenth century. During the seventeenth century, many people considered such monsters as frightening signs of evil cursed by spiritual or supernatural entities. Liceti categorized monsters based on their potential causes, several of which he claimed were unrelated to the supernatural.
“Effects of Social Support During Parturition on Maternal and Infant Morbidity” (1986), by Marshall Klaus, John Kennell, Steven Robertson, and Roberto SosaIn 1986, researchers Marshall Klaus, John Kennell, Steven Robertson, and Roberto Sosa in the United States published “Effects of Social Support During Parturition on Maternal and Infant Morbidity,” hereafter “Effects of Social Support...” in the
British Medical Journal. In that article, the authors describe their efforts to determine if the presence of a supportive companion during a pregnant woman’s labor, or parturition helped to either shorten her labor or reduce negative health outcomes for both mother and infant, also called morbidity.
US Food and Drug Administration’s Requirements on Content and Format for Labeling for Human Prescription Drugs Rule (1979)The Food and Drug Administration’s Content and Format for Labeling for Human Prescription Drugs Rule, or the 1979 Labeling Rule, first assessed the risk of prescription drugs in pregnant women and fetuses. Prior to 1979, drug labels were only required to state true information, but there were no requirements for content or format. The 1979 Labeling Rule established a required format for all prescription drug labels, which included assigning drugs to a risk category for pregnant and lactating women. Those risk categories indicated what level of risk a drug posed to a pregnant woman,
fetus, or breastfeeding infant based on experiments and case studies.
Matthew Howard Kaufman (1942-2013)Matthew Kaufman was a professor of anatomy at the
University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, UK, who specialized in
mouse anatomy, development, and
embryology during the late twentieth century. According to
The Herald, he was the first, alongside his colleague Martin Evans, to isolate and culture
embryonic stem cells. Researchers initially called those cells Evans-Kaufman cells. In 1992, Kaufman published
The Atlas of Mouse Development, a book that included photographs of mice and mice organ development.
Physician Labeling Rule (2006)In 2006, the United States
Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, published the “Requirements on Content and Format of Labeling for Human Prescription Drug and Biological Products,” also called the Physician Labeling Rule, to improve the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs and drug products. Within the Physician Labeling Rule, the FDA includes a section titled “Use in Specific Populations” or Section 8, which refers to drugs used by pregnant women, lactating women, and people of reproductive capacity. The FDA stated that the purpose of the Physician Labeling Rule was to make drug labels easier for physicians to understand and use when prescribing drugs to pregnant women.
Marshall Henry Klaus (1927–2017)Marshall Henry Klaus was a scientist and pediatrician who studied maternal-infant bonding in the twentieth century in the United States. Maternal-infant bonding is the psychological and chemical attachment between mother and infant. Klaus cofounded DONA International, an
organization that trains birthing aides, called doulas, to provide physical and emotional support to laboring mothers. He also studied the differences between the layouts and quality of care provided in nurseries and birthing centers in different countries and compared them to those found in the United States. Klaus’s study influenced national and international initiatives to create hospital policies focused on promoting early bonding between mother and infant.
David Michael Rorvik (1944–)David Michael Rorvik is a science journalist who publicized advancements in the field of reproductive medicine during the late twentieth century. Rorvik wrote magazine articles and books in which he discussed emerging methods and technologies that contributed to the progression of reproductive health, including
sex determination,
in vitro fertilization, and human
cloning. During that time, those topics were controversial and researchers often questioned Rorvik’s work for accuracy.
Copper Intrauterine Device (IUD)The copper intrauterine device, or IUD, is a long-term, reversible contraceptive first introduced by Howard Tatum and Jamie Zipper in 1967. Health care providers place an IUD inside a woman’s
uterus to prevent
pregnancy. Copper IUDs are typically made of T-shaped plastic with some portion covered with exposed copper. Prior to the invention of the first IUDs, women had few long-term options for safe and reliable
birth control. Those options mostly consisted of barrier methods and the oral
birth control pill, which were only effective if used correctly and consistently.
<a href="/search?text=Roe%20v.%20Wade" title="" class="lexicon-term">Roe v. Wade</a> (1973)Editor's Note: This article replaces the previous
article on this topic, which was published in this encyclopedia
in 2008. The 2008 article may be found
here.
