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The Nation's Web Special:
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14. Treatise on Midwifery
Oct 15, 2004
Dr Dan Beach Bradley wrote his helpful Treatise on Vaccination in 1840 (although it was not published for another four years), yet he regarded the care of pregnant women and midwifery a subject of even greater concern.
Alarmed at some of the practices he witnessed in early 19th-century Siam, the American physician and missionary believed that modern methods of childbearing would greatly aid local mothers and their offspring.
Thus he spent the Bt240 he was paid by King Rama III for his work protecting the Siamese from smallpox on a book on pregnancy and midwifery. “Kampee Kantharaksa” (Treatise on Midwifery) was published in 1842, offering 200 pages of advice and some 50 photos and illustrations by local artists.
It was the country’s first Thai textbook on modern obstetrics.
In the old days, it was customary for a woman who had just given birth to lie by a fire for a month. The practice, called yu fai, was believed to allow the womb to heal properly while curbing her sexual appetite.
Bradley was appalled that the practice continued even though many mothers suffered from the heat and actually became ill. At the same time, many babies were stillborn or unhealthy as a result of faulty theories about birthing and childcare.
The doctor wrote that many Siamese women insisted their bodies were structured differently from those of Western women, so they believed his methods were unsuitable for them. Bradley decided to write a book to try and correct such misconceptions and further improve the Siamese quality of life.
Agreeing that Siamese mothers must abandon yu fai, Prince Mongkut and Prince Chudamani enthusiastically approved of Bradley’s plan. Although initially there were few followers, Bradley’s observations – and his books – were the first steps towards changing harmful attitudes that had been retained from generation to generation.
“Kampee Kantharaksa” was also the first Siamese medical textbook to be made available to the general public, another extraordinary innovation among the citizens of the day.
Nithinand Yorsaengrat
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