Ghost Stories Compilation

Symphysiotomy

Chainsaws. We've all seen them saw wood. But did you know chainsaws were originally invented to assist with childbirth? It sounds too gruesome to be true. But chainsaws were originally invented to saw out babies.

Today c-sections are common, but before modern hospitals, they were too dangerous, nearly always killing the mother. So all babies had to pass through the birth canal. But as we all know, they sometimes get stuck. When babies got stuck in the pelvis, midwives or doctors had to saw off parts of the mother's bone and cartilage, creating more room for the baby.

The procedure is called "symphysiotomy." Originally, it was performed with a small handheld saw. But this took a long time, was very messy, and was obviously extremely painful (this was before anesthetic).

To solve this problem, two doctors named John Aitken and James Jeffray invented the chainsaw. It wasn't a big chainsaw like lumberjacks use. It was smaller, and it was used to saw through a mother's pelvis, freeing a stuck baby.

Eventually, it evolved into the larger chainsaw used on trees. Using chainsaws for childbirth became obsolete once c-sections became common and safe.

Symphysiotomy was practiced in some countries until the 1980s, often without the consent of the mother, and sometimes caused lifelong health problems.