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William Smellie (obstetrician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Smellie

William Smellie (5 February 1697 – 5 March 1763) was a Scottish obstetrician and a leader in making obstetrics a scientifically based medical field. In addition to acting as a midwife, he published books that helped improve the practice, designed improved tools for midwives to use, and taught extensively.

William Smellie
Born	5 February 1697 Lanark, Scotland
Died	5 March 1763 Lanark, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Scientific career
Fields	Anatomy, Obstetrics

Contents

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• 1Life
• 2Controversy
• 3Legacy
• 4References
• 5External links

Life[edit | edit source]

Smellie was born on February 5, 1697 in the town of Lanark, Scotland. He practiced medicine before getting a license, opening an apothecary in 1720 in Lanark. It was not a particularly lucrative venture, as he had to also sell cloth as a side business to supplement his income, but he began reading medical books and teaching himself obstetrics at this time. By 1728, he was married to Eupham Borland, who was seven years his senior. Later, he enrolled at the University of Glasgow and received his M.D. degree in 1745. To further enhance his knowledge of obstetrics, he studied in London and Paris but found the instructors disappointing each time. In response, he opened his own practice in London and began teaching soon afterwards. This practice proved far more successful than his first one, and Smellie made a name for himself in London, much to the surprise of his friends from his hometown.

His work was not without opposition though. At the time, midwifery was a a female-dominated profession. The idea of a man assisting women with childbirth was often considered inappropriate if not downright horrifying by many female midwives and patients. However, Scottish doctors like Smellie led the shift of obstetrics into a medical field practiced largely by male physicians and surgeons.

At the same time, Smellie helped make obstetrics much more scientifically-based. One of his contributions to the field was a "machine", an obstetrical manikin, for instructing his students. It essentially functioned as a model of the birthing process, which would nowadays be referred to as a "phantom". While not an original idea, the phantom was far more accurate than previous models and allowed him to visually demonstrate midwifing techniques. He also designed an improved version of the obstetrical forceps, which had been recently revealed after being kept secret for generations in the midwifing Chamberlen family. In his new version, Smellie shortened and curved the blades and included a locking mechanism. Furthermore, he devised a maneuver to deliver the head of a breech, and published his teachings.

Smellie was highly respected as not just a midwife but a teacher. Ten years after establishing his London practice, Smellie had 900 pupils and 200 lecture courses. His students did not gain any certification or fulfill medical training requirements by attending his courses, but came seeking to enhance their knowledge As a teacher, Smellie tried to provide his students with live demonstrations to go along with course lectures. Consequently, he offered free midwifing services to patients if they allowed his students to observe the birthing process. This practice led to more medical students attending parturition as a part of medical training.

He taught and midwifed until 1759, in which he retired and returned to his hometown Lanark. He passed his practice on to Dr. John Harvie, who had married Smellie's niece. In retirement, Smellie focused on compiling and refining his findings into books, including the last volume of A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery" . He died at the age of 66 on March 5 1763, in time to finish his book but not to see it published.

He is believed to have painted his own portrait. Use of forceps by W. Smellie

Books

A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery (published in three volumes from 1752-64) describes the mechanism of labour and how to handle the normal birthing process along with various complications that might arise. Furthermore, the book was the first to set up procedures for ensuring the safe use of obstetrical forceps, as Smellie recognized that the forceps were a life-saving tool but best used sparingly. By the time Smellie published the first volume book, he had been practicing for over 30 years and was involved in around 1,150 deliveries. The information in his book was valuable to the field, as few people at that time had so much experience in midwifing.

A Sett of Anatomical Tables (1754) was also an important contribution to the field of obstetrics. This was a compilation of his anatomical drawings depicting childbirth and pregnancy. Though only one hundred copies were made, it was groundbreaking in its detail and anatomical accuracy.

From William Smellie's "A Set of Anatomical Tables"

Controversy[edit | edit source]

Smellie, together with his former pupil William Hunter and his brother John Hunter, was accused to be involved in either murdering pregnant women or of showing a callous disregard for where his corpses came from. The arguments is the large number of the pregnant corpses Hunter was able to obtain.However, the debate continues and this accusation is widely contested by other scholars.

Legacy[edit | edit source]

A sett of anatomical tables (1754) The tomb in which William Smellie (and later his wife) was buried still stands in the St. Kentigerns section of the state run Lanark graveyard. The William Smellie Memorial Hospital which provided maternity services in Lanark closed in the early 1990s and was re-located to a unit at the Law Hospital in Carluke. This was also subsequently closed and maternity services moved to Wishaw General Hospital.

References[edit | edit source]

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• Lanark Museum