# The History of Childbirth with historian & author Lucy Inglis Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/womenkind-collective-3653569/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/womenkind-collective-3653569/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis.md Podcast: [WomenKind Collective](https://stenobird.com/podcast/womenkind-collective-3653569) Published: 2026-01-31T22:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/womenkind-collective/episodes/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/660030ee8d6ad80016ba0381/e/69774fd21f18d4661c4a7072/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/womenkind-collective-3653569/episodes/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis Duration seconds: 3094 ## Resource Birth is often treated as timeless and unchanging but the way we give birth has always reflected power, politics, and gender. In this episode of Womenkind Collective: Spill The Tea, we’re joined by cultural historian and novelist  Lucy Inglis , author of Born: The Untold History of Childbirth, to explore how childbirth has been shaped and controlled across history. From Neolithic birthing practices to ancient contraceptives, from upright labour to the medicalisation of birth, Lucy charts the moments when women were pushed out of decision-making and examines how patriarchal systems and medicine became deeply intertwined. We discuss: • What inspired Lucy to write a full history of childbirth • The “obstetric dilemma” and why humans need help in labour • Medical misogyny from Hippocrates to the modern maternity ward • Pain relief in the 1840s and the story of Fanny Appleton Longfellow • The experiences of Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy — and why their stories are essential • Why women still struggle for autonomy over pregnancy and birth today • What must change to create safer, more humane birthing experiences Lucy Inglis is also the author of  Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium , a blogger at  GeorgianLondon.com , and a regular contributor to radio and television. We catch up on our weeks adventures and learn about a beautiful tradition from the women of Kongthong, a remote part of India and their tradition of Jingrwal iawbei when a baby is born.  Stick around for something for our 'thought for the week'.   Lucy Inglis : Books:  • Born. The Untold History of Humanity. Lucy Inglis. 2025. Bloomsbury Continuum • Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium. Lucy Ingli… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/womenkind-collective-3653569/episodes/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/womenkind-collective-3653569/the-history-of-childbirth-with-historian-author-lucy-inglis.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.