Anne Delaney pays tribute to the ‘man-midwife’ who did so much to improve maternity care in Ireland

Life in 18th century Ireland was dangerous for expectant mothers. The risk of death or complications while giving birth was considerable. This was certainly the case in Dublin, which in the 1700s was a city ravaged by disease and famine. Childbirth was indeed hazardous there; 1 in 50 mothers died giving birth and many others were left with painful physical damage.

Bartholomew Mosse, born in Portlaoise in 1712, the 5th child of the Rev Thomas Mosse and his wife Martha, knew well the perils of childbirth. For Mosse, who had studied medicine under Dr. John Stone, a barber-surgeon, and who himself qualified as a surgeon in 1733, lost his wife, Mary Elizabeth, and their infant son shortly after she gave birth in 1737.

He was devastated by their deaths and left Ireland to work as a surgeon in the British army and to travel around Europe, trying to escape his grief. But he could not forget the tragedy which had shattered his life; whilst abroad he visited various maternity hospitals including an establishment in Paris, ‘La Charite’, which specialised in difficult pregnancies.

Around this time Mosse took a decision which was to change his life. He resolved to devote himself to the care of pregnant women and to become what was known as a ‘man-midwife’. This was an unusual step in the 18th century when midwifery as a profession was despised.

In fact, Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland were punished if they acted as midwives. As a result, midwives were largely untrained.

Undaunted by the contempt of the medical establishment, Mosse obtained a licence in midwifery and quit the lucrative practice of surgery to focus on helping women to safely give birth. At the time there were only three man-midwives in Ireland.

But Mosse’s work was hindered by a lack of proper facilities and he soon resolved to found a purpose-built hospital in Dublin where pregnant women would be properly cared for.

Mosse’s ideas were revolutionary. He wanted women to come to hospital a week before their babies were due, so they would be rested and well-nourished before giving birth, and to stay in hospital for a week afterwards to regain their strength.

With the help of Dr Patrick Delany, Chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral, he managed to raise enough money to purchase an old theatre on George’s Lane. He revamped the building and in 1745 opened it as a ‘Lying-In Hospital’, its name derived from his practice of allowing his patients time to rest before and after giving birth.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own