Women were never meant to give birth on their backs ^60.5%

BBC Future - By Lucy Sherriff - 4/5/2026, 9:10 AM

Appeal to Authority 23.3% - Hasty Generalization 16.9% - Appeal to Emotion 13%

It's usually more dangerous for women to give birth lying down, so why do they? It's all because of a Frenchman who decided it was more convenient – for men. For thousands of years, across the world, women tended to give birth in an upright position – whether kneeling as per Cleopatra, using birthing stools and chairs, or squatting. In... more