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Recent Acquisition! Tea-cups, Princess Charlotte, and the History of Birth

Recent acquisition! This cup and saucer set c. 1818 commemorates the death of Princess Charlotte after giving birth. The heir to the throne of England labored for 50 hours without intervention before delivering a large, stillborn son in 1817. Charlotte's physicians came from the non-interventionist school of #obstetrics, meaning they used no forceps to assist or hasten the child's stalled birth. Further, no destructive instruments (those that would have sacrificed the child to spare Charlotte) would have been used because of infant's royal status. In fact, physicians attempted to resuscitate the stillborn baby, thinking he was in a state...

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Event and Gallery Opening! From Ether to Epidural by Jacqueline Wolf

Anesthesia: it calls to mind surgeries, treatment of shock--the rendering of a patient unconscious and free (temporarily) from pain.  But anesthesia has played an enormous role in the shifting ideas surrounding labor and birth in America generally--and right here in Cleveland. It's more than a knock-out; it's an ever-changing history! On Thursday, November 19th at 6:00pm, Dittrick will share this fascinating story through a gallery opening (Childbirth in America, 1840-1940) and a talk by celebrated author and historian Jacqueline Wolf. Reproduction, birth, and women's health in the 19th century shaped the way we practice obstetrics today. One of the biggest...

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Embracing Digital History: How Medicine Became Modern

Brandy L. Schillace What was it like to be sick 50 years ago? 150 years ago? What medical innovations most changed American lives? How did Cleveland rise to importance as a medical city? In other words: How did we get here? The Dittrick Medical History Center and Museum, in collaboration with design partners and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, presents: How Medicine Became Modern, an innovative new way to explore the artifacts, people, and stories behind the great innovations of our age! Museums nationally and internationally are reaching new audiences—while retaining and engaging present ones—through the medium of digital technology. The Philadelphia Museum...

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Living (and Breathing) Museum Research

When the museum receives donations from the community, sometimes little surprises find their way into unexpected collections. Frequently, we classify artifacts based on the donor's description and our expectations. Until we dig into their stories for an exhibit, these unexplored artifacts sit on shelves among surgical sets, microscopes, and pharmaceuticals, waiting to be discovered. One such specimen found its way into our work space as we pulled items for a recent installation on Obstetrical Anesthesia from 1850 to 1890. We were familiar with the Bennett Inhaler (Fig. 1), a handheld device intended to be filled with chloroform for laboring women to self-administer...

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