[post_page_title]Pregnant royals used to wear a special girdle blessed by God[/post_page_title]
With safe, acceptable anesthetics still a few centuries away, women in the late Middle Ages had to get creative if they wanted to counteract childbirth’s excruciating pains. Their solution was… unorthodox by modern standards. While pregnant, some 16th-century royals elected to wear a “holy girdle” or “Virgin’s girdle” (referring to Mary).
Hemmed in silver thread and lined with jasper, it would be worn during the lying-in period and could be blessed by priests to further enhance its powers. Amulets and charms would also often be placed on the royal’s belly to speed up contractions, while coriander would be placed on her thighs to coax the baby out.
