24-year-old doctor Jesse Bennett successfully performed a C-section on his wife, Elizabeth, saving both her life and their daughter Maria's: 14th January, 1794, in a log cabin on the Virginia Frontier.
The attending physician's refusal to participate, leaving the scene altogether, left Bennett to make quick decisions - though this included spontaneously removing his wife's ovaries.
The groundbreaking operation remained a local legend for nearly a century, as he never publicly reported it due to concerns about disbelief and the delicacy of the matter.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite the success of this operation, C-sections still weren’t routinely performed until over a century later; investigate whether earlier examples of successful caesareans had happened in Africa; and consider whether pig-spaying was an appropriate qualification for midwifery…
Further Reading:
• ‘Caesarean Section - A Brief History: Part 2’ (US National Library of Medicine): https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part2.html
• ‘House Of The Dragon: A History Of Mediaeval Caesareans (C-Sections)’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/caesarean-c-section-childbirth-history-origins/
• ‘African midwives successfully performed C-sections before it was common in Europe’ (Verify, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mto400r_T3M
This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.
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