SPQR Blues: CXVI

[spqrblues]

 
No rest for the bleary...

Interesting autobio and other comics in the archives sidebar today (note: not all SFW). Please visit and enjoy, while I'm busy pencilling and inking the next installment. Which might not be posted until late Friday, depending on how swamped I am today with other projects. Oh, and work, too. I do still occasionally manage to do my job.




I think even a bookkeeper could be forgiven for not being able to keep track of his money at a time like this....

{{ the archives live here }}

Comments

[pikku-gen.livejournal.com]

Oh, the age-old magic of helping a baby to be born... Of course the women all have their hair down, with no tangles and knots? In medieval times sometimes it helped if the mother-to-be sat on the lap of the man who was the father, but I'm not sure if the Romans already knew that. Especially if the parents weren't married, that is. In a pinch any man would do, but the sympathetic magic said the baby would want to meet its father.

Fish pickle sauce, maid... whatever. ;)

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Eeek! A man in the birthing room?! Sounds scandalous to me :) I don't think I'd heard that particular medical wisdom before. Someone should tell Felix...

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

Don't remember where I read it and don't have time to web search, but, in some societies that pre-date Rome, the father of the child (or closest male relative of the mother) would hold the mother on his lap in such a way that he could hold and support her thighs while the midwife did the baby catching. A laboring mother gets very tired of the physical demand on her body and having someone who loves and cares about both you and the child is comforting and relaxing.

The position also allows for the natural path of the baby without causing the birth muscles to tear as badly as the prone position (which was for the doctor's convenience).

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

The Romans generally used a special birthing chair, to allow the woman to give birth sitting up but not obstructing any parts. A female family member (or other woman) was expected to stand behind her to support her back, provide comfort, etc. So, it's pretty much the same idea, but with the addition of the chair. None of this lying on one's back so a doctor can be more comfortable...