Royal childbirth throughout history - Narrated

It was believed that painful childbirth was a punishment for original sin. Although giving birth today is seen as a celebratory time for family bliss, this was not always the case. Throughout history, Christians saw the pain of childbirth as necessary because the Bible states, God told woman, in pain you will give birth to children. In devout Christian countries, be they Catholic or Protestant, the suffering of labour and delivery were seen as an innate part of woman's experience. The agony she would suffer was closely associated with the fall of Eve in the Garden of Eden and symbolised the magnitude of her original sin. Painkillers were often frowned upon, even for royals. As a result, queens often clutched holy relics and amulets during labour. The church approved of such practices because they asked for God's protection and would likely help a mother find success during her darkest hours. Even if a queen bore a healthy child, malicious rumours could bring about a number of problems for the royal family. When Mary of Modena, wife of King James II, gave birth to her son James in 1688, the country was rife with tales that she had not really been pregnant and had tried to trick the public by smuggling an infant into her bedchamber through a secret panel in the headboard of her bed, or had a baby smuggled in, in a warming pan. Pregnant royals might not even know they were pregnant for many months. Nowadays, the process of birth is well understood and accepted, but this had not always been the case. Throughout much of history, many women would not even know they were with child until they felt the first flutters of movement at around five months. This is called quickening and is the point when women would acknowledge their pregnancy. As many as 200 people watched the queen give birth. The birth of a royal was a political event that could have deep implications for an entire nation. It was an event that could signal the future success or failure of a monarchy. As a result, it was not regarded as a private affair, but rather as a moment of public concern. Would it be a boy, a future king? The witnesses watched the process carefully to confirm the sex and health of the baby and avoid foul play. When Marie Antoinette of France gave birth in 1778, there were 200 people in her bedchamber to witness the event. In fact, the exact moment of royal birth was so important, the obstetrician would yell, the queen is going to give birth, at which point hundreds of courtesans would pour into the darkened room. The scene was so overpowering, Marie Antoinette fainted from the heat, while onlookers scrambled up on furniture to get a better look at the birth of a monarch. Royal women began to medicate themselves. Born in the early 1800s, Queen Victoria, who gave birth to nine children, began a campaign to make pain relief for royal mothers available and acceptable. For the birth of her eighth son, Prince Leopold, she found a doctor who would use chloroform to give her reprieve from the mind-blowing pain. All that blessed chloroform she wrote in her diary afterwards. Soothing and delightful beyond measure. But asking for pain relief from childbirth was no simple task, as it sometimes flew in the face of the moral belief that women deserved the pain. It was simply their lot in life. But after the protestations of Queen Victoria, the outlook began to change and royal women began politely requesting the Anesthesia de la Reine during labour, otherwise known as Aether. The Queen received a birthing plate. Royal women were typically given a special present known as a birthing tray. These decorative pieces were usually adorned with pictures of biblical births and celebrations and were presented to women around the time of their lying in. They were laden with jars filled with different delicious things like chicken soup and sweetmeats. Once the food was eaten by their hungry mother-to-be, the trays were then hung on the walls as decoration and became valuable keepsakes to the royal family. The Queen's chambers were made to feel like a return to the womb. About a month before the Queen was due to give birth, she withdrew from life at court and was moved to a special chamber. Despite the luxury of her apartments, the rules for her lying in strictly dictated all windows were to be shut and covered with tapestries, allowing almost no fresh air to enter the room. Light was also considered dangerous. The bedchamber would be hung all about with calming tapestries, depicting serene religious scenes and landscapes. It was believed that wall-hanging showing animals could trigger strange visions in the mother-to-be and possibly lead to deformities in the child. Unsanitary conditions led to deadly infections. Even the most opulent Queen often give birth in relatively unsanitary conditions, creating a serious health risk to both mother and child, a sickness known as puerperal fever. A septic infection of the reproductive organs was common and always resulted in death of the mother and sometimes the child. To prevent such sickness, herbal remedies were created, most notably a drink called cordle, a fortifying combination of egg, cream, porridge and alcohol used to keep up the mother's strength during the birth of her child. Midwives had to swear not to steal the afterbirth for witchcraft. Expertise was based solely on the experience of women who had given birth before. Doctors were rarely called in unless the situation became dire, as midwives did all the heavy lifting. As birthing experts, they had to be both knowledgeable and of good character, a woman who could be trusted with the life of the future monarch. When attending a royal mother, the midwife was required to take an oath on the Bible not to steal anything from the birth itself, such as the placenta or umbilical cord, both of which could be used in witchcraft. They wore a special girdle, blessed by God. Because the pain of childbirth was so greatly feared among royal women, well, any woman, a special girdle was created to offer them extra support. This elegant garment, often hemmed in silver thread, was created with the purpose of helping a queen and it was blessed by numerous clergy and imbued with God's blessing. Rituals performed during pregnancy could determine whether the baby was male or female. They believed the gender of an unborn child could be influenced by certain foods or medicinal portions. According to these beliefs, the sex of a baby was not determined until the very moment of birth when the baby would hit the fresh air, so it was always possible to influence the divine decision during pregnancy. The royal mother could not attend her own child's christening. While the baby was celebrated and instantly received by the public with the christening, the mother herself was not allowed to attend given the uncleanness of her condition. She was required to remain in her bedchamber for another six weeks until she could be churched, which meant she could be blessed and purified by a priest before returning to her royal duties. The father usually was not present for the birth. This changed when Prince Albert was at the side of Queen Victoria during her births. Prince Philip was famously absent during the 30-hour birth of Prince Charles in 1948. He is said to have been playing a game of squash to pass the time. Philip later attended the child's delivery when Prince Edward was born in 1964. Prince Charles inspired a new tradition after he attended Prince William's birth. In 1982, he wrote, I am so thankful I was beside Diana's bedside the whole time because by the end of the day I really felt as though I'd shed deeply in the process of birth and as a result was rewarded by seeing a small creature which belonged to us even though he seemed to belong to everyone else as well. Expectant royals wrote their wills before giving birth in case they died during the delivery. The loss of the queen or the baby was the biggest fear surrounding a royal birth. Although necessary to the survival of the monarchy, giving birth was no simple feat and was considered a dangerous undertaking. Any pregnant royal would have received communion often and vigilantly asked for God's help with their condition. The practice of giving birth was considered so dangerous, all royal women were encouraged to write their wills before lying in. And this concludes the video. Thank you very much for watching. If you enjoyed this, please click the like button, give it a thumbs up and please subscribe for future videos. Thank you.