Carmella Crooks

Professor Connors

HONORS 394

9 March 2023

The Joyous Pains of Childbirth

Iliana was jolted awake by the shooting pain she felt in her uterus. She cradles her

bulging belly as she feels another contraction come on. Her arm naturally begins to stretch to the

other side of the bed to grab hold of her husband before she remembers that her husband left

town only a few days prior for a work voyage to Egypt. She resides in her husband’s property in

Athens along with an enslaved woman who helps with the house upkeep. When Iliana agreed to

get married to her husband, she was barely sixteen years old and now at the ripe age of eighteen

she was anxiously anticipating the arrival of her first-born child.

Iliana started to notice that her night garment was quite damp with an unknown clear

fluid and she worried if her womb had expelled its inner fluids, losing its moisture and warmth.1

She instinctually rolled herself out of bed and went searching around the hallways for her

Corinth, her slave. She began calling out her name wondering if she was outside working on the

garden or if she was in the kitchen preparing the daily breakfast. Finally, she finds Corinth

sweeping some dried leaves off the entrance and atrium.

“Corinth, please notify the midwife immediately. I think the baby is just about ready to

come out and meet us.”

“Now? Really? Oh, my goodness Iliana, you are going to be the best mother. I am so

excited for you. Of course, I will be right back.”

1
Faraone, Christopher A., ‘Magical and Medical Approaches to the Wandering Womb in the Ancient Greek World’,
Classical Antiquity, 30.1 (2011), pp. 4
 Iliana moved toward the kitchen in search of a kettle to warm herself up some water. She

is hopeful that this method will provide replenishment to the lost fluids she noticed from earlier.

Throughout Iliana’s pregnancy, she has done everything by the book. Her and her husband

visited a doctor who specializes in childbirth and were told about the importance of nourishing

herself with digestible food and exercising her upper body to ensure the milk her breasts produce

is nutrient dense and the right consistency.2 Iliana did not want to hire a wet-nurse as she knew as

soon as she was pregnant her role as a mother included breastfeeding.

Luckily, Iliana had set up the nursery just one week earlier as she sensed her time

carrying her child was quickly dwindling. She peers into the room to check and make sure all the

supplies were in order before heading back to the bedroom to lie down whilst waiting on the

midwife to arrive.

Alexandria, the midwife, had spent the later part of three years training beside a well-

seasoned physician on the art of delivering babies. She quickly became known by her

community as respectable, quick-thinking, and passionate for the work she does. Her fingers

were long and slim, always with trimmed nails.3 Not only did she know how to follow

instructions, she also was very observant and any time her teacher took control over the situation

she would position herself in such a way as to see exactly what the doctor would do to ensure

safe delivery of the baby out of the womb. During her free time, she would read papyri of reports

from other obstetricians around Greece who had unusual cases of childbirth. There was the belief

around the scientific community that other scientists would benefit from access to these kinds of

documents. Her teacher was the only one who knew of the extent of knowledge young

2
Atkinson, Clarissa W., ‘Physiological Motherhood: The Wandering Womb’, in The Oldest Vocation, Christian
Motherhood in the Medieval West (Cornell University Press, 1991), pp. 61
3
Ecca, Giulia, ‘Fixing Ethical Rules for Midwives in the Early Roman Imperial Period: Soranus, “Gynaecia” I 3–4,
Sudhoffs Archiv, 101.2 (2017), pp. 129
Alexandria had begun to acquire since starting her role and he never questioned her for her

intrinsic curiosity and hard work ethic.

A slave enters her office as Alexandria was busy reading and making annotations on the

newest collection of delivery records. Once Alexandria was notified of Iliana’s approaching

arrival of her first born, she began to gather her supplies, placing them each into her leather

satchel. On her way out of the office, she leaves a note for the doctor with the address of Iliana,

and she quickly jots down ‘Baby coming. Meet me here.’

Upon entering Iliana’s residence, she notices the simple yet elegant design of the interior.

She feels a sense of calm and serenity overcome her, which she knows will soon be replaced by

the joyful pains of arriving motherhood. She pushes open the door to see Iliana with a damp

washcloth draped over her forehead, her legs sprawled wide open, and her chest rising high and

falling low.

“Hello, you must be Iliana. It is such a pleasure meeting you on this very special day. I

am Alexandria, and we are going to work together on getting this baby out of your womb

safely.”

“Ahhhh---Ehhhhh, Ohhhh kayyyy. Let’s do this thing,” Iliana manages to slip out of her

mouth as she continues to wince in pain.

Alexandria begins by sterilizing the area and setting up her tools in case she needs to use

any of them. She measures how dilated Iliana is and says to Iliana, “You are doing great, mama.

You are already nearly fully dilated so now we are going to start working with your body to push

when you begin to feel a contraction.” As Alexandria finishes her sentence, she starts to see the

crown of the head begin to poke out of the cervix and realizes that the coloration of the baby’s

head was tinged with blue. She begins to scoop her fingers in and around to feel the curves of the
baby’s head and neck. Upon reaching the neck, she feels a toughness that is not customary for a

baby to have near the neck area. She begins racking her brain on what it might be and as she

continues thinking, she follows the thicker material inch my inch realizing that it spans around

the entirety of the baby’s neck before plunging deeper within the uterus.

Panic begins to set in as Alexandria realizes that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the

unborn baby’s neck constricting the flow of blood to the baby’s brain. Each minute that passes is

a minute that will cause irreparable damage. She knows that this is usually when the doctor steps

in to assist with any major complications that arise during delivery. She is keen to the common

problems that tend to happen, but she has never experienced this particular complication, nor has

she delivered a baby without the doctor right by her side. She feels a rush of energy and alertness

similar to what she had felt the first time she ever participated in childbirth as a midwife-in-

training. She suddenly is flooded with thoughts of self-doubt and voices of her parents repeating

to her that she mustn’t waste her time on midwifery and should rather be pursuing interests in

viable men to whom she could bear children with. She always hated the thought of giving up her

autonomous lifestyle to suit the needs of a man and found the loophole of becoming trained as a

midwife to set her free from spending so much time with her pestering mother and father.

Iliana interrupts her thought, “Alexandria, please, tell me my baby is okay.”

Alexandria didn’t know how to respond. She knew that making the mother any more

anxious would just make matters worse, so she resorted to soothing the mother, reassuring her

that everything was going to turn out the way it is supposed to.

Internally, Alexandria wanted to believe the words she was saying, but another part of her

reasoned logically that this baby would likely never make it to their first breath. Imagining this

outcome felt like she had just swallowed a pound of bricks, and feels her eyes grow heavy and
her gaze drifts down to her tools. She remembers that one of the latest collections of obstetric

reports mention a case of clamping and cutting the umbilical cord while the baby remains in

utero. Not only has she never seen this done before, but she also will have no clear vision of the

field when she makes the cut. She weights out the options in her head and without any hesitation,

begins to grab the clamp in her left hand, while sliding her right hand into the mother to locate

where she will need to clamp. As she begins to pick up the scissors, the slave, Corinth, enters

with a small basin of warm water and a hand-woven baby blanket draped over her arm.

“What are you doing to Ms. Iliana with those scissors?” she remarks.

“What??” Iliana jerks her head up to meet the eyes of Alexandria.

Alexandria felt blood rush to her face as she was not expecting to have to disclose this

information to the mother as a way of protecting her from the troubling situation they find

themselves in. Alexandria begins by saying, “You are strong, and your baby is stronger.”

“Why does my baby have to be stronger?”

“Do you trust me when I say that I am going to do everything I can to protect you and

your baby? Remember what I said earlier, let’s work together to get this baby out safely.”

Iliana bursts into tears because she can hear some nerves in Alexandria’s voice and

knows that there must be something wrong, despite her withholding the details. Iliana has

worked this hard to protect her baby throughout this pregnancy, so she knows what must be done

in this moment.

“Okay,” Iliana says as she wipes tears from her eyes, “I trust you, Alexandria, but please,

save the baby, if it comes down to that. And, Corinth, I wouldn’t have made it through this

pregnancy without you and I know you would be an outstanding mother to my child.”
 “Oh, Ms. Iliana, please do not say such a thing. You must stay with us. You are not ready

to meet the underworld, there is so much left for you to do in this life.”

Corinth grabs hold of Alexandria’s hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “You are stronger

than you think.”

Corinth and Alexandria did not have the conventional wife-slave relationship. With

Alexandria’s husband always out of town for work, this left the two of them alone at the house

together for extended periods of time. Alexandria had other friends in the neighborhood but

struggled to leave the house after her first miscarriage two years prior. She spent weeks crying in

her room and the only person who managed to pull her out of this dark time was Corinth. On

sunny spring days, the two of them would spend the day gardening and sharing stories of their

childhood when life was simpler. Corinth would often remind Alexandria of the joy her baby

would bring her one day and she couldn’t wait to help her take care of the little one.

Alexandria asks Iliana to take a deep breath and to hold as still as possible. She had

traced her finger down the umbilical cord and found where the cut needed to be made. With a

steady hand, she makes a clear cut feeling the cord immediately loosen under the chin. She feels

a glimmer of hope but does not discount the possibility that this condition could have been

longstanding. The proceeding half hour consist of breathing and pushing on the part of Iliana and

Alexandria setting the pace for the big efforts. One last big push frees the shoulder, allowing for

the baby girl to slip the rest of the way out of the womb.

Corinth comes running over with the basin to assist Alexandria with the rinsing of the

fresh newborn. At this point, the baby is clearly different shades of blue, so Alexandria begins to

push on the baby’s chest to try and force blood back up to the brain.

“Is the baby okay?” asks Iliana pleading for an answer.

 In this moment, the baby starts to wail, and the weight Alexandria was feeling begins to

be lifted. Corinth wraps the infant in the little blanket she had made during Iliana’s first

pregnancy and hands her to Iliana to meet her newest family member.

As Iliana looks down at her daughter for the first time, she is overwhelmed by the feeling

of love and protection. She didn’t know the intensity she was feeling could be so great.

“My baby Isis. I will protect you and you will protect me.”

Iliana knew that her life would never be the same because she now has a person who will

depend on her to learn how to walk and talk, and to learn the good from the bad. She also knew

that there would be times when Iliana could not spare her daughter from the inevitable heartache.

And in those moments, she hopes that her daughter will remember that she is a gift from the

gods, and nobody can argue that.

Alexandria glances over at Iliana holding her baby and could not stop thinking about

what she had just accomplished, yet she suppresses any feelings of pride and begins the cycle of

questioning herself. Self-doubt was a problem that plagued Alexandria’s day-to-day since she

started learning about medicine and healing. It always starts with her remembering the cases that

did not turn out the way it did today, and then she relives comforting the grieving parents as they

continue to sob until no more tears would form. Alexandria replays every move she had made

over and over in her head, trying to figure out what she could have done differently.

Iliana interrupts her thought and says, “You are oil from an olive tree, Alexandria. Truly

a treasure and I cannot thank you enough for saving my baby girl.”

Corinth chimes in saying, “Your hands have the power of the gods.”

Alexandria freezes up and becomes visibly uncomfortable. She does not see herself in

this way, which she thinks is rooted in her parents not seeing it this way either. She often forgets
to applaud her successes because she is too busy dwelling on her imperfections to notice the

growth she has made.

Corinth notices Alexandria’s tenseness and adds, “Women are capable of greatness, too.”

Alexandria’s eyes begin to glaze over with a thin layer of tears and the corners of her

mouth turn upwards. She finally lets herself feel for the first time in her training and she

collapses into Corinth’s arms crying so hard that she doesn’t even make a sound.
Annotated Bibliography

1. Atkinson, Clarissa W., ‘Physiological Motherhood: The Wandering Womb’, in The

Oldest Vocation, Christian Motherhood in the Medieval West (Cornell University Press,
1991), pp. 23–63 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvn1t9zn.6> [accessed 21
February 2023]
I incorporated descriptions of a mother and of a wet-nurse to describe the essence of the
character Iliana since at the beginning of the story, she is meant to be seen as an ideal mother in
ancient Greece. As the story continues, one is probed to recognize the deep and intense emotions
that any mother can feel, no matter how prepared they may be. There will always be
uncontrollable outcomes that no mother will be able to avoid from happened to their child.

2. Ecca, Giulia, ‘Fixing Ethical Rules for Midwives in the Early Roman Imperial Period:
Soranus, “Gynaecia” I 3–4 / Die Festlegung Ethischer Regeln Für Hebammen in Der
Frühen Römischen Kaiserzeit: Soranos, ‚Gynaecia‘ I 3–4’, Sudhoffs Archiv, 101.2
(2017), 125–38
This source was referenced when developing the character of the midwife in the story,
Alexandria. She is meant to be described as a suitable midwife one might have seen in ancient
Greece. However, as the story goes on, one can begin to see that she was quite the curious
thinker and always wanted to learn more about obstetrics beyond the role of the midwife.

3. Faraone, Christopher A., ‘Magical and Medical Approaches to the Wandering Womb in
the Ancient Greek World’, Classical Antiquity, 30.1 (2011), 1–32
<https://doi.org/10.1525/ca.2011.30.1.1>
I referenced this source when describing the pregnant woman, Iliana, breaking her water.
Although the wandering womb was often referenced as a reason prohibiting the woman from
getting pregnant, I decided to spin it to describe the worry experienced by Iliana when she
noticed the clear liquid on her night gown. In this article, the womb is described as always
needing to be moist and heavy to stop the movement, which inspired me to use it in reference to
the water breaking. This source explained the wandering womb in a very similar way as the
Atkinson article except for describing the event following a wandering womb as synonymous to
experiencing a seizure.

4. Wengert, R. G., ‘The Paradox of the Midwife’, History of Philosophy Quarterly, 5.1
(1988), 3–10
This article poses that the ‘intellectual midwife’ was a title that Socrates made for himself and
used sparingly. As I kept writing this short story, I pulled some inspiration from the spirits of
Socrates as I developed the character of Alexandria to demonstrate her competence.
Additionally, the midwife was typically a woman who had children of her own but was past the
time of bearing any more. Socrates obviously was not able to be consistent with this image of the
midwife, similarly Alexandria did not have any children either.