OB GYN: Female Doctors Throughout History

OB GYN: Female Doctors Throughout History

Obstetrics and gynecologists both deal with the female reproductive system. However, there is a slight difference between the professions. Obstetrics deals with women who are already pregnant such as being involved with delivering babies and the health of the mother. Gynecology deals more with the reproductive system of women who are not pregnant.

Metrodora was a female Greek physician who was the author of the oldest medical book known as On the Diseases and Cures of Women. Why did this book play such an influential role on Obstetrics and Gynecology? In her book, she touched on controversial topics such as the inflammation of the uterus. Her works were influenced by Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Corpus. Hippocrates was the most famous physician in Ancient Greece during 460-377 BC who was the first ever to release a medicine based on scientific observations rather than religious superstitions. Inspired by the works of Hippocrates, Metrodora conquered gynecological issues in her book such as vaginal infections. Insteads of solely describing vaginal infections, she provided treatment for vaginal infections such as menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding). Metrodora recommended treatments such as “applying potato porridge mixed with goose fat in a form of pessos.” Additionally, she was able to define and diagnose female sterility as well as virginity. Even more impressive, she was able to perform an embryotomy on dead embryos in order to save the pregnancy. Metrodora made such a large impact on gynecology even facing the most fatal breast and uterine cancers such as scirrhous (malignant tumor). She was the pioneer of the usage of the speculum in order to examine the vaginal canal. You should thank Metrodora for introducing what is now called the tampon. In modern day, she is often considered the mother of gynecology as she helped pave the way for many more discoveries in the field.

The first woman to earn a medical degree was Elizabeth Blackwell, who went into obstetrics and gynecology. Her father died when she was young, leading her to rely on her mother and two older sister’s teaching incomes. Blackwell originally decided to follow in her family's footsteps and become a teacher until her friend pointed out that she would be able to better support her family with a physician’s income. Although Blackwell was originally opposed to the idea of working in the medical field due to her lack of interest in human anatomy, she decided to become a doctor to support her family. Blackwell turned to her family's physicians to try to figure out how to accomplish her goal. She read medical books and applied to all of the medical schools in New York and Philadelphia and even some schools in the northeast. In 1847, Geneva Medical College accepted Elizabeth Blackwell as a joke, thinking she wouldn’t accomplish much anyways. Although she received discrimination from her male teachers by being forced out of labs and being forced to sit separately from her male classmates, she persisted and recieved her medical degree in 1849, becoming the first woman to earn a medical degree. After proving all of her male counterparts wrong about what women could accomplish in the medical field, she worked in clinics in London and Paris for two years. Blackwell dreamed of being a surgeon, but the doctors pushed her to study midwifery. Eventually, she contracted an infection and lost sight in one eye, so she decided it would be best to move back to New York. After returning, Blackwell faced gender discrimination and had difficulty practising in hospital, causing her to open her own dispensary that initially did not receive many patients. Later, Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children to treat poorer women and provide positions for other female doctors. By also opening a medical school, Blackwell allowed for more female doctors to come. In fact, her sister, Emily Blackwell, decided to become a doctor as well and she helped Elizabeth Blackwell open her clinic. Later, she moved back to London to teach gynecology at the London School of Medicine and wrote an autobiography called Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women. Other women, like Blackwell, contributed majorly to the medical field while on the career path as an OB GYN, leading to a larger number of women in the medical field.

Although many people know about how OB- GYNs commonly perform medical services to help their patients give birth and help with stages of pregnancy, OB- GYNs can also can perform abortions. This procedure has been constantly questioned, facing moral questions, and has been denied to countless patients who wanted to terminate their pregnancy. In 1973, Roe V Wade made abortion legal, but this ruling has been under constant risk of being turned over and many laws have been made to try to deny access. Roe v Wade was extremely impactful, as it actually offered a safe method to terminate pregnancy. Abortion is an extremely safe proccess, with a 99% safety record. Criminalizing abortion led only to attempts at terminating abortion using unsafe methods. Another fact to consider is that criminalizing abortion hurts low income patients more than the wealthy. Low income patients could have trouble finding access to this procedure in comparison to others who can spend money to travel. With waves of attempted abortion bans, this only hurts low income familes and can end up in dangerous self- attempted procedures that could have instead be performed by medical professionals.

Sources cited:

“3 Powerful Women in OB-GYN History: OB-GYN Women's Centre.” OB, 27 Feb. 2019, obgynwc.com/3-powerful-women-ob-gyn-history/.

“Changing the Face of Medicine | ElizabethBlackwell.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 3 June 2015, cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_35.html.

Mandal, Dr. Ananya. “What Is Obstetrics?” News, 28 June 2019, www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Obstetrics.aspx.

Watts, Sarah, et al. “Your Ob-Gyn Might Not Perform Your Abortion-Here's Why.” Glamour, www.glamour.com/story/your-ob-gyn-might-not-perform-your-abortion.

Planned Parenthood. “Roe v. Wade: The Constitutional Right to Access Safe, Legal Abortion.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade.

Final note: We hope this article taught you more about gynecology. We hope to write more articles educating our audiences about different medical fields. Thank you for reading! And see you next time

Bridget, Cayla, and Parisa

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