William Smellie, born 1697 in
LanarkLanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The origin of the name is British meaning "clear space, glade"....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, died 5 March 1763 in Lanark, was a preeminent obstetrician and has been called
the father of British midwifery.
He practiced medicine before getting a licence, but enrolled later at the
University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities...
and received his M.D. degree in 1745. After training in obstetrics in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he opened a practice in London and began teaching.
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William Smellie, born 1697 in
LanarkLanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The origin of the name is British meaning "clear space, glade"....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, died 5 March 1763 in Lanark, was a preeminent obstetrician and has been called
the father of British midwifery.
He practiced medicine before getting a licence, but enrolled later at the
University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities...
and received his M.D. degree in 1745. After training in obstetrics in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he opened a practice in London and began teaching. He invented a "machine", an obstetrical manikin, for instructions. Smellie described the mechanism of
laborChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
, designed obstetrical
forcepsForceps are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Forceps are used when fingers are too large to grasp small objects or when many objects need to be held at one time while the hands are used to perform a task. The term forceps is used almost exclusively within the...
, devised a maneuver to deliver the head of a
breechA breech birth is the birth of a baby from a breech presentation. In the breech presentation the baby enters the birth canal with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head first presentation.-Etiology:...
, and published his teachings. He is believed to have painted his own portrait.
The William Smellie Memorial Hospital which provided maternity services in
LanarkLanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The origin of the name is British meaning "clear space, glade"....
closed in the early 1990s and was re-located to a unit at the Law Hospital in
CarlukeThe town of Carluke lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5.4 miles northwest of Lanark and 5 miles South-East of Wishaw....
. This was also closed recently and maternity services moved to
Wishaw General HospitalWishaw General Hospital is a district general hospital in the Craigneuk area of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire.-The Hospital:Wishaw General Hospital opened on 29 May 2001. It is a 633-bedded hospital, with the second-largest maternity unit in Scotland, delivering 5500 babies each year...
.
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