Is it true that a midwife is a person or an animal? Or maybe that's what they call a special disease?
The midwife toad is an amphibian
In fact, there is such a toad on our planet. You can meet her in cities, and in forests, and in mountains, and near clean lakes. The distribution area where the midwife toad lives is wide. This is:
- UK.
- Switzerland.
- Belgium.
- Spain.
- Portugal.
- France.
- Netherlands.
- Luxembourg.
- Germany.
Small, covered with warts amphibian reaches a size of only 5 centimeters. It belongs to the round-speaking family.
This toad got its name, most likely, due to the fact that the eggs, from which the tadpoles subsequently hatch, seem to be packed into long ribbons. The male wraps these ribbons around hiships - thus, the future offspring is constantly under the supervision of a caring father.
Umbilical Cutter
And here is another profession with that name in ancient times. So who is this midwife? What did she do?
If we translate the name into modern language, then the midwife is a midwife. That is, in ancient times there was a kind of woman who knew how to deal with certain gynecological diseases, who knew how to take birth, tie the umbilical cord in a baby. That is why they often called her not only the receiver, because she took the baby from the mother's womb, but also the navel-cutting grandmother and the umbilical cord woman, since the procedure for cutting the umbilical cord and processing it was also assigned to the healer.
Words similar in meaning
Having determined the meaning of the word "midwife", you can continue the synonymous series. It turns out, according to dictionaries, this also includes such lexical units as svovyvalnitsa, svovyvalka, midwife, midwife, midwife. Often, the noun "grandmother" or "woman" was added to definitions with the listed roots. For example, they said: “The midwife has come!” Sometimes this word was used with the application of the above. For example, one could say "grandmother-bedmaid" or "midwife".
And in the case when the application went down, no one had any doubts about who they were talking about.
“Toska is pot-bellied! Soon you will have to call your grandmother!” - gossips whispered at the well. And it was not necessary to specify: we are talking about a pregnant neighbor who probably hasa baby was expected soon. “To call a grandmother” meant to seek help from a midwife. The midwife is the one who helped the woman become a mother.
And today sometimes a negligent gynecologist has to listen: "Yes, you are not a doctor, but a midwife!" The speaker seems to imply that the doctor does not have modern knowledge.
Thus, "midwife", "obstetrician", "gynecologist" are also in some way words of this synonymous series.
Requirements for a midwife
This is now a midwife in order to start working in this area, it is enough to have a diploma in your pocket. You don't even need work experience. This was not the case before.
A young, nulliparous girl should not have single-handedly delivered a baby. Not without reason, in the very name of the profession there was an indication of age - “midwife”. Who was called that? An elderly woman with children. And they must all be alive. The “woman” herself in many villages only then had the right to play the role of a midwife, if she had not lived a sexual life and had already “washed herself”, that is, her periods had already stopped.
Often the midwife used not only her ability to take birth, but also conspiracies and prayers. She seemed to combine the roles of a midwife and a healer.
Certified midwife - nonsense or rule?
Of course, in ancient times, midwives often gave birth, having received skills from their parents.
But along with this, already in the middle of the 18th century, educational institutions appeared in Russia that trained medical personnel in this field. "Midwifery institutes" provided higher education, "midwife schools" - secondary. Moreover, a specialist with a higher medical education was proudly called a “midwife”. But after the midwife school, only “rural midwives” came out.
In this regard, the meaning of the word "midwife" can also be regulated. And his definition will surprise linguists to some extent. After all, it turns out that the midwife had the lowest rank, since she received a correspondence education.
That's how it turns out that dictionaries lie, putting "midwife" in one synonymous row with "midwife"! It's like calling a doctor a nurse or a paramedic.
After the revolution of 1917, these educational institutions were reorganized. And he alth workers in the field of obstetrics were no longer called midwives and midwives, since there was no longer a gender difference among he alth workers, and no one looked at age either.
Interesting facts about midwives
- With the staff of the police department there was a special position, which was referred to only as the "city midwife." Naturally, her activities were strictly regulated by the “Charter for Midwives.”
- In the villages where Nikonians and Old Believers lived together, which should not have intersected in any way (even using a common well was contraindicated, especially dishes), neverthelessless turn to the same grandmother. This is not a sin.
- A grandmother after childbirth usually watches over a woman in labor and a baby for three days - either lives with her or visits daily. In some special cases, the midwife replaces the patient, caring for her and the child, taking care of other children, if any. There were cases when the grandmother took all the management of the household of the woman in labor and led it until the mistress returned to normal.
- A midwife must necessarily take part in the weddings of her adopted children. If she did not live to see such an event, then her daughter should be present instead of her. The very word "povyat" goes back to the wedding ceremony - laying on the head of the newly-baked wife of the povoi. The midwife, in other words, helps the girl to "get drunk".
