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====Who developed Twilight Sleep?====
Twilight Sleep was the product of two German physicians--Dr. Bernhardt Kronig and Dr. Karl Gauss. They developed the procedure in 1906 to alleviate the pain of childbirth. Their development did not occur in a vacuum. Twilight sleep "contributed to changing childbirth from an at home process to a hospital procedure and increased the use of anesthetics in obstetrics," and it was developed several years after Dr. Richard von Steinbüchel suggested the use of scopolamine as an anesthetic for childbirth.<ref>Jessica Pollesche, "Twilight Sleep," The Embryo Project, 2018 [https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/twilight-sleep].</ref>
[[File:3zch8l8unsiy.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|This image shows how women would be prepared for Twilight birth. Eyes were covered and arms were restrained in order for physicians to maintain control.]]
Morphine, a derivative of opium, was a well-known, powerful, (and addictive) narcotic with analgesic properties, and scopolamine was a "preanesthetic agent" that produced drowsiness, amnesia, and euphoria.<ref>William C. Shiel, Jr. "What is Twilight Sleep in Obstetrics?" MedicineNet, 2018 [https://www.medicinenet.com/twilight_sleep_in_obstetrics/ask.htm].</ref> As medicine became a more organized and professional field, women increasingly asked for anesthetics during the childbirth process. Physicians were responding to these demands. When Dr. von Steinbüchel suggested the use of scopolamine (in conjunction with morphine) he wasn't hoping to render women unconscious, just to reduce pain.
When the two drugs were injected, though, the combination of the two produced a result where women had no memory of pain. Drs. Kronig and Gauss revisited Dr. von Steinbüchel's formula and adjusted the dosage to avoid some of the negative--and potentially fatal--side effects, specifically: slow pulse and decreased respiration.<ref>Pollesche.</ref> Kronig and Gauss posited that the use of this drug minimized complications and allowed mothers to recovery more quickly. While their initial findings were not well-received, they continued their research and soon started offering the procedure to some of Germany's wealthiest women.
Though Twilight Sleep fell in popularity, it was still available. In 1958, however, an article called "Cruelty in Maternity Wards" by ''Ladies Home Journal'' exposed some of the violence that was occurring in modern American delivery rooms. The author described the leather restraints and screaming that the women under the influence had no memory of. Some have described this as an important moment in the history of childbirth, as it was, after this encouraged for fathers to be present at deliveries where they had been absent before. This was also true for the women. When they were administered this particular drug cocktail, they, too, were absent from the childbirth experience.
This image of restrained women during childbirth--a natural process--, especially at the hands of predominantly male physicians , did not bode well with the forthcoming Women's Rights Movement. Subsequent pharmaceutical innovations have found a way to minimize the pain of childbirth while also allowing women to be present to welcome the birth of their new child. ====References====<references/>
==== Additional Sources ====
*Stella Lehr, "A Possible Explanation of the Conflicting Reports on Twilight Sleep.” ''California State Journal of Medicine'' 8 (1915): 220–22.
*Judith Pence Rooks, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566397111/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1566397111&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=31e4e545616440657c0baf3f990d11d8 Midwifery and Childbirth in America]''. *Mark Sloan, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692220216/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0692220216&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=914784c1ec1e56c11ee8c2eda39d9ec5 Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History, and the Wonder of Childbirth].''*Paul Starr, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465093027/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0465093027&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ae420b83fe47a08ce8d6de844dbeca6f The Social Transformation of American Medicine].''.
====References====
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[[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:Medical History]] [[Category:20th Century History]][[Category:United States History]]
