Caesarean section: Historical background

Abstract

Although caesarean section is probably one of the oldest operations in the history of medicine, its origins are rather obscure. Very few surgical procedures have been the subject of such bitter controversy, and, it is only in relatively recent times that its performance changed from a last minute attempt to save a child from an almost dead mother to a safe, of ten planned, operation. © 1991, The Scottish Medical Journal. All rights reserved.