Why do women give birth lying down and what does King Louis XIV have to do with it

In most cases, women give birth lying down. Many are sure that this is the most optimal position for a woman in labor and a child. But this is not the case and the reason why childbirth occurs this way, and not otherwise, is completely non-obvious. Scientists have uncovered this mystery, in which the fetishist monarch was involved.

Since ancient times, women have given birth squatting or on all fours. This situation was prompted by nature itself and research has confirmed it. X-rays clearly show that in such positions the lower pelvic opening opens as wide as possible, freeing the passage of the baby. But the lying position turned out to be the least successful.

There are images of women in labor sitting on antique frescoes and Egyptian papyri. Moreover, the women of many tribes of Africa, Australia and South America, almost untouched by civilization, prefer such childbirth. But why do we, in spite of everything, give birth lying down?

The answer to this question was given by historians who studied the late Middle Ages. Strange as it may sound, but the fashion for such childbirth was introduced by the French king Louis XIV. The "Sun King" had a special form of fetishism - he liked to watch childbirth. The monarch had 22 offspring and he was present at the birth of each. In the 17th century, a large number of children among kings was the norm. With a high level of infant mortality, it was absolutely necessary to leave behind an heir.

When a wife or a favorite gave birth, King Louis threw everything away and hurried to the bedchamber. There he made himself comfortable a little to the side, so as not to interfere with the midwives, and gave free rein to his passion. But since the appearance of the child is almost invisible during childbirth in a sitting position, the king ordered that the sacrament of birth take place exactly lying down.

Louis XIV also liked to speculate on this topic and actively promoted an unnatural pose for women in labor. Scientists believe that it was the monarch's authority that caused the traditional position to take root first in France, and then throughout Europe.

So says the author of a study on this topic, Professor Lauren Dundas. It remains to find out why, contrary to nature and accurate medical facts, we continue the tradition introduced at the whim of the fetishist king.