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Cited by 448

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 5 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The start of life: a history of obstetrics

Open access
Drife, J·2002·Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract

Obstetric intervention originally consisted of extraction of the baby, usually by the breech, to save the mother’s life in obstructed labour. Forceps, introduced in the 17th century, were later refined by men-midwives like William Smellie. In Victorian times, Simpson championed chloroform anaesthesia, Lister pioneered antisepsis, and caesarean section was introduced. In 1935, however, Britain’s maternal mortality rate was still around 400/100 000. It fell dramatically after antibiotics appeared and is now 11.4. In the 1960s ultrasound and electronic fetal monitoring became widely used. In 2000 the British caesarean section rate reached 20%. Worldwide, childbirth still causes 600 000 maternal deaths a year.

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Citations

Cites

Show all 5 references

Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. Lawrence, 1996, Aurelia, Cecily and Ann: a brief survey of caesarean section, The Diplomate, 3, 71
  2. O’Dowd, 1994, The history of obstetrics and gynaecology
  3. Speert, 1996, Obstetric and gynecologic milestones
  4. Hibbard, 1994, Pioneers in obstetrics and gynaecology 3: Peter Chamberlen, The Diplomate, 1, 309
  5. Studd, 1994, Pioneers in obstetrics and gynaecology 1: William Smellie, The Diplomate, 1, 153
  6. 1870, Obituary: Sir James Young Simpson, Lancet, i, 715
  7. 1912, Lancet, i, 465
  8. Baskett, 1997, Pioneers in obstetrics and gynaecology 6: James Young Simpson, The Diplomate, 4, 72
  9. Baskett, 1996, On the shoulders of giants: eponyms and names in obstetrics and gynaecology
  10. Eustace, 1999, The origins and development of the ventouse, The Diplomate, 5, 260
  11. Baird, 1965, BMJ, ii, 1141, 10.1136/bmj.2.5471.1141 · doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5471.1141
  12. 1986, BMJ, 293, 1446, 10.1136/bmj.293.6559.1446 · doi:10.1136/bmj.293.6559.1446
  13. Lewis, 2001, The confidential enquiries into maternal deaths
  14. 1987, BMJ, 295, 126, 10.1136/bmj.295.6590.126 · doi:10.1136/bmj.295.6590.126

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Metadata

Authors
Drife, J.
Venue
Postgraduate Medical Journal
Published
2002-05-01
Volume
78
Issue
919
Pages
311-315
ISSN
  • 0032-5473 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-0756
OpenAlex
W2098090623
Cited by
448
References
5
FWCI
21.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The start of life: a history of obstetrics. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1136/pmj.78.919.311
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Drife, J. (2002). The start of life: a history of obstetrics. Postgraduate Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/pmj.78.919.311

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

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