Obstetrical Forceps: History, Mystery, and Morality

The history of obstetrical forceps has almost always been one cloaked in controversy after a long history of being shrouded in mystery. Forceps have a long history and have evolved from facilitating the delivery of dead fetuses to aiding in the delivery and survival of live babies. In the middle of all of this arises the story of the Chamberlain family whose contribution was enormous but whose behaviors pushed at the envelope of (at least) our present-day concepts of medical ethics. This lecture traces an interesting story that spans a millennium.