306 Kevin McGeough footnote to explain the translation, saying: “More exactly, the brick or stone supports used by Egyptian women during child birth”. The NIV translates the term in virtually the same way: delivery stool. The Evan- Shoshan concordance defines the word as: maππab ’iππah belidtah (a woman’s place to sit while she gives birth”. The American Standard Bible, the Webster Bible, and even the King James Bible all offer translations that suggest that the ’obnayim was a type of equipment sat upon by a woman while in labor. However, there are enough divergent interpretations to make this discussion important. Surprisingly, a consensus has not yet been reached about what exactly this word refers to or how it should be understood. As a brief digression, it is important to note that these translations presuppose that women in ancient Egypt did not give birth while in a supine position. Birthing while lying down is a relatively modern innovation, and in many ways is more beneficial for the attending doctor or midwife than for the pregnant woman herself. A squatting or seated position better facilitates a mother’s own power to birth, in that it allows the pelvic floor muscles to stretch more easily and allows the woman to use her thigh muscles along with her abdominal muscles and uterus in a way that does not fight gravity. A birthing stool was frequently employed in this process, since it helped support the mother during labor. There is much ethnographic evidence for birthing techniques in this position, using a birthing stool, from the Roman period through sixteenth century Puritan practices to the Fellahin of modern Egypt. The Roman author Soranus (who wrote during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian) describes such a stool as a seat with a crescent-shaped cavity — allowing the woman to sit, but not interfering with the birthing process. Similar images are presented in Thomas Raynalde’s 1545 work, The Byrthe of Mankynde; two woodcuts visually illustrate how a birthing stool was used in Germany. In front of the expectant mother is the midwife, seated slightly lower so that she has access to the mother and baby. In both woodcuts, a woman stands behind the mother as well giving further support. Textual descriptions of such activities are also attested in Medieval manuals and in Puritan documents (2). Photographs in Winifred (2) For discussion on the Medieval manuals, see J. TOWLER – J. BRAMELL, Midwives in History and Society (New Hampshire 1986) 82 and, more generally, B. ROWLAND, Medieval Woman’s Guide to Health (Kent 1981). For discussion on the Puritan documents, see R.V. SCHNUCKER, “The English Puritans and Pregnancy, Delivery and Breast Feeding”, History of Childhood Quarterly 1 (1974) 641.