3 After birth: care of the newborn

Soranus wrote about the care of the newborn child in his work on Gynecology. Read Soranus, Gynecology, Book 2 (sections 6–11) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   (pages 79–90).

Note down your reactions to what you have read. Were the treatments suggested hygienic from a modern perspective? Is there an element of ritual involved in the treatment? What tools and materials were used for treatment of the infant after it was born? How was a child fed?