A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery. 3rd ed. corrected

1756

Health Sciences Historical Collection WQA S638

London: Printed for D. Wilson and T. Durham

William Smellie (1697-1763) has been called the ‘Father of British Obstetrics’. After an apprenticeship to an apothecary in Scotland, he went to sea as a surgeon’s mate. Smellie then moved to London and specialised in midwifery. He was a teacher to William Hunter (1718-83), the leading obstetrician of the Georgian period. Smellie was a strong believer in non-interference where possible, and the first to describe resuscitation of the newborn by blowing into its lungs. Here, he is describing the effects of rickets in softening the pelvic bones leading to deformity that can interfere with childbirth.