Could You Survive Medieval Childbirth?

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, Sex, Scandal, Education, History

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Childbirth isn't for the faint-hearted at the best of times, let alone in the medieval period.

What was a birthing room like at this time in history? Who would have been in there helping bring a new baby into the world? And how suspicious were the church of these all-women spaces?

Joining Kate today is the always-fabulous Eleanor Janega, co-host of our sister podcast Gone Medieval, to take us back to this time and place.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm your host, Kate Lister.
0:02.4	If you would like Betwixt the Sheets, add free, and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:08.7	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of original documentaries with top history presenters, and enjoy a new release every single week.
0:19.8	Sign up now by visiting history hit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:24.8	Hello, my lovely betwixters.
0:26.4	It's me, Kate Lister.
0:27.9	You are listed to betwixt the sheets.
0:30.7	But before we're allowed to go any further,
0:32.6	and this is my idea, by the way, this is the lawyer's idea.
0:35.1	But we have to tell you, this is an adult podcast book by adults, to other adults, about adult things in an adult the way, this is the lawyer's idea. But we have to tell you, this is an adult podcast, spoken by adults, to other adults about adulty things in an adulty way, covering
0:40.2	a range of adult subjects as you should be an adult too. Right, do you feel safer? I feel safer.
0:44.3	Certainly, up the lawyer, feel safer. Let's get on with it.
0:52.6	I know we've already had the fair do's warning, but think of this as an extra layer of protection, a second pair of underpants, if you will.
1:01.1	We are talking about childbirth, so you need to be thinking of tearing vaginas, hemorrhaging, rupturing, all kinds of awfulness, but in the medieval period, so it's extra
1:13.8	awful, okay? And it's not for the faint-hearted. I mean, not that childbirth ever was or is,
1:19.7	but today we are pushing through the pain, peeking under the linens and asking,
1:24.3	what was childbirth like in the Middle Ages?
1:33.3	What do you look for a man? Oh, money, of course.
1:35.3	You're supposed to rise when an adult speaks to you.
1:38.3	I make perfect confidence of whatever my boss needs by just turning a and pushing the butt. Yes, social courtesy does make a difference.
1:53.1	Goodness, I've got nothing to do with it, Derry.
2:06.0	Hello, and welcome back to Patrixasheets, the history of sex scandal and society with me, Kate Lister.
	...

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