The Origins of Gynecology

Going to the gynecologist is an uncomfortable experience for many women. Often, it can feel violating as some of the most private aspects of your body are exposed to strangers or doctors you might not know well. Modern innovative tools and surgical techniques used during these examinations and procedures have a horrifying past based on the creations of J. Marion Sims. Sims is known as the current “father of gynecology” with his work being plastered across medical textbooks around the world. His work led to significant advances in the medical field, such as the invention of the speculum and a method to repair vesicovaginal fistula, a commonly occurring childbirth complication, but these breakthroughs came at an extensive cost.

Sims was a world-renowned surgeon back in the 19th century, becoming head of the American Medical Association and the American Gynecological Society. His work in the field, however, was anything but ethical and is now highly criticized among other healthcare professionals. Sims conducted his work under the racist assumption that Black people did not feel pain, an idea that presents itself still today, with some believing this misconception to still be true. He used no anesthetic on the women, leaving them in excruciating pain. These women did not have a choice as to whether or not they wanted to participate in his experimentation, as they were all enslaved and coerced into them. Today, we know that there were at least 30 women who underwent these horrific surgeries, and many did not make a full recovery for months. One woman who was operated on was named Lucy, and she was only 18 at the time. She went under the knife to try to repair her bladder which was left damaged after childbirth. It took her months to recover from his surgery as she was left screaming and crying for hours. She also contracted blood poisoning afterward, leaving her close to death. The traumatic experiences these women faced have been forgotten by history, and only the legacy of J. Marion Sims remains.

As the foundations of modern gynecology can be traced back to these atrocious events, where Black people faced medical abuse at the hands of doctors who were supposed to be the best in their fields, it’s easy to see why our current healthcare system continuously fails them. A prime example of this is within the childbirth sector. Black women have a significantly higher chance of dying from complications following childbirth than white women, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Some doctors have even gone on record saying that the current state is a “public health and human rights emergency,” like Dr. Ana Langer. A majority of these deaths are also preventable, and many speculate the cause of these inexcusable deaths. A large portion of these factors come from socioeconomic status and lack of access to healthcare, but there is another prominent factor that is less discussed. Dr. Langer explains that in healthcare, “Black women are undervalued, and not monitored as well as white women.” They come to hospitals looking for help but are not listened to when they present their symptoms. These issues, combined with implicit bias and structural racism, create a hostile environment for Black women, leaving many distrusting of doctors and the entire healthcare system as a whole. No one can blame them, however. How can we create just and fair institutions that women can trust, if its foundations were built on such cruel and racist practices?

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https://www.today.com/health/racism-gynecology-dr-james-marion-sims-t185269