The Art of Childbirth of the Midwives of Al-Andalus: Social Assessment and Legal Implication of Health Assistance in the Cultural Diversity of the 10th–14th Centuries

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 21; p. 2835
• Main Authors: Espina-Jerez, Blanca, Aguiar-Frías, Ana María, Siles-González, José, Cunha-Oliveira, Aliete, Gómez-Cantarino, Sagrario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2023
• Subjects: 14th century; Arab people; Childbirth; Childbirth & labor; Christian Islamic relations; cultural diversity; Culture; Division of labor; Gender; History; history of nursing; Islam; Islamization; Jewish people; Methods; Midwifery; Midwives; Multiculturalism; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Muslims; Obstetrics; Patient outcomes; Practice; Religion; Society; transcultural nursing; women physicians; Womens health; Zoroastrianism; Spain; Iberian Peninsula
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11212835

(1) Background: The role of Al-Andalus’s women were the result of Arabization and Islamization in Spain. The 10th to the 14th centuries were a time of significant cultural diversity in the region. Female physicians and midwives were important for providing care to women. Despite existing studies, there is still a lack of focused research on the professionalization of these trades, including their requirements, intervention areas, and treatments. (2) Methods: To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review using the dialectical structural model of care (DSMC). Primary medical and legislative sources were used. (3) Results: two kinds of midwife, or qābila, were discovered, along with a woman physician, or ṭabība, who also acted as a midwife. These professions underwent diverse training and fulfilled duties as obstetricians and pediatricians. Midwives were esteemed members of society and were the sole female professionals who needed qualified training. Their performance in the courts was exemplary. Tools for facilitating childbirth and interventions related to female health were discovered in the study. (4) Conclusions: The patriarchal societies suffer from significant inequality in terms of academic training, knowledge transmission, and healthcare provision. Midwives functioned in segregated domestic and legal spaces and were responsible for providing public care to communities from the 10th to 14th centuries.