... delivering babies. This can also be seen through earlier medical writers, suggesting that it was a common practice, and not something that began in the Roman period. Although these women could be considered midwives, no official training was required other than that already acquired through their own experience. After the birth, the midwife would assess the child. According to Soranus, she would indicate whether it was male or female. She was then responsible for laying the baby on the ground and deciding whether it was 'worth rearing'. Other post-natal duties included judging when to cut the umbilical cord, cleaning and swaddling the baby and then putting the baby to bed. The child was then laid before the father who would choose whether to rear the child and accept it as his own or to expose it. Those children who were least likely to be accepted into the family were those ...

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