The first three patients to give birth by Caesarean Section at Glasgow Maternity Hospital, Rottenrow. All three were rachitic dwarfs, victims of rickets. "C C" is Catherine Colquhoun, the first to be operated on.
The photograph was taken by the surgeon, Murdoch Cameron, on the occasion of the marriage of one of the women. The other two were her bridesmaids.
Caesarian Section, traditionally associated with the birth of Julius Caesar, had such a notoriously high mortality rate for mothers and children that it was seldom performed in hospitals. A number of doctors in Glasgow were convinced that in some circumstances it would provide the best chance of survival for mother and child. Cameron's groundbreaking operation on Catherine Colquhoun in 1888 attracted worldwide attention. A succession of further successful operations established the reputations of Cameron and the hospital, acknowledged as world leaders in this area of obstetrics.
Reference: Heatherbank Museum of Social Work, print 6130
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow Caledonian University, Research Collections, Heatherbank Museum of Social Work
Keywords:
babies, births, Caesarian Section, Glasgow Maternity Hospital, gynaecology, medicine, midwifery, mothers, obstetrics, physical disabilities, rachitic dwarfs, rickets, surgeons, surgery
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