The birthing chamber was strictly a male-free zone
For centuries, every aspect of royal life in Europe was male-centric. The only real time and place where men’s concerns were secondary was when a mother-to-be was sealed off in her special chamber, ready to give birth. Once the doors to the chamber were closed and the ‘lying in’ process was underway, the room would become a female-only zone, with men only allowed in in exceptional circumstances.
The boss in the chamber was the midwife, who was always a woman. At this point, midwives probably knew far more about childbirth than doctors, many of whom were also priests or monks and so had little, if any, knowledge of the female body and childbirth. A queen or princess could, of course, count on the very best midwives around. They were tasked with overseeing every stage of labour and the birth, ensuring the safe delivery of the baby. While the mother’s health was important, it was a secondary concern to the wellbeing of the infant.
Not only did royal midwives have to be knowledgeable and competent, they also needed to be highly trustworthy, too. Such was the fear – often quite justified – that things from the birth, including the umbilical cord or placenta, would be smuggled out of the chamber and sold or used in potions for witchcraft, midwives were obliged to swear an oath that they wouldn’t take anything out of the room. In a highly notable break from the accepted gender roles of the time (and indeed, very much against the religious norms of today even), the midwife was allowed to baptize the baby in extreme circumstances. This was permitted if it looked like the infant was very sickly and unlikely to survive for long. By delivering the blessed sacrament, the royal family could rest assured that the infant’s soul was saved and he or she would go to heaven.
The barring of men from the birthing chamber continued well beyond Tudor times. In fact, it was only in the mid-19th century that men began to be present at royal births. This was when Prince Albert joined Queen Victoria as she went into labor, staying right until the end. The Queen wrote that “there could be no kinder, wiser, nor more judicious nurse,” than her beloved husband, setting a trend for men to be beside their wives as they gave birth. Slowly, it became increasingly acceptable for male doctors, witnesses and even relatives to be present, ending the centuries-old matriarchal dominance of royal deliveries.