Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy, black women slaves---The Mothers of Modern Gynecoloy [View all]

[bobbieinok]

They were operated on WITHOUT ANESTHESIA, by Weldon Sims from 1846 to 1849

It was believed that blacks,esp black women, did not feel pain, at least not nearly as much as whites do. Therefore the black women did NOT need anesthesia

The problem was that difficult childbirth sometimes causes a vescovaginal fistula, an opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum---painful, messy, extremely unpleasant to oneself and to others

After many operations, as many as 30 on one slave woman, Sims was able to successfully mend the tear. He went north to become the Father of Modern Gynynecology and err ventually president of the American Medical Society

Eta---At npr.org/transcripts Feb 2016