Obstetric aid is justly called the oldest branch of clinical medicine since the need for care and various maneuvers during childbirth (midwifery) is as old as humanity
itself.
" The desire to alleviate the pain of the woman in labor and to help her is so natural that we can safely say that the first rudiments of obstetrics are older than the history of medicine, and as ancient as the human race" (E. Bumm, 1907).
The first attempts to assist a birthing woman were steeped in religious beliefs in its various manifestations, especially in the earliest times, in the primitive communal system. One can suppose that there were times when women gave birth without any assistance, and bit through the umbilical cord the way animals do it. It was observing animals as well as giving primitive care to them in case of severe injuries and hard labor that promoted the development of the first surgical skills which were then practiced on fellow tribesmen. This is one of the circumstances in which healing evolved in the primitive society. This was probably the time when the first knowledge of anatomy was acquired (killing animals).