... bitter blow has hit the two daughters of Helvidius. Both have died in childbirth after each giving birth to a daughter." From a wall carving, we can see that Roman women had midwives, to help them along with the birth. A Roman mother giving birth to a baby. A slave girl (on the left) and the midwife (on the right) are helping her. It is thought ... is because, of all the epitaphs (readings on tombs) which had been recorded only 16 of these were for midwives- 9 of these definitely worked for wealthy households of Rome. Only one of these midwives was a slave when she died. The others, wer...

• Word Count: 3290
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

... , particularly in her descriptions of the slave-nurse who seemed to be worth more to her than her own daughter. Brave Orchid also describes to Kingston the common practice among midwives of killing baby girls at birth, suffocating them in a box of clean ashes. Kingston does not know whether her own mother ever killed a baby, but she has nightmares for the ... ...

• Word Count: 6134
• Approx Pages: 25