ancient art, childbirth, freaking cool clients

The foundation of midwifery care is building a relationship. Through the visits, you learn more than just what they ate for dinner or how much they weigh; you also learn who they are and who their families are.

This Etruscan ceramic fragment is over 2,600 years old, and it's quite possibly the oldest depiction of childbirth ever found in Europe. It's a marvelous sight to behold, but the person who actually discovered it hasn't even seen it.

I have this sweet family, Chris & Laura Lee Nutt; we talk about so many different topics at our visits. Last week we were talking about anthropology and archeology. Yes, at a prenatal appointment. This is why I love midwifery care. By the way, you should research experimental archeology. Pretty dang cool. As we are talking, she tells me about her brother, an archeologist, and I am wowed by it. To their surprise, they had not told me about her brother William. They both look at each other, laughing, and tell me to look him up.

Y'all!!! In the Summer of 2011, William Nutt discovered what is currently believed to be the earliest representation of childbirth in the western world. And to make this even more amazing! William is blind!!

"The image is unique because in the classical world, we don't see a lot of birthing scenes. The real question is if we don't see these types of birthing scenes anywhere else in classical art, then why is it on this pot? It obviously meant something to the people who were there and who made it. A number of kingdoms broke down and changed over a short period of about 100 years. Looking at the culture change helps us to learn a lot about how societies adapt to stress, what being a part of a society means and it helps us to learn about ourselves."

William and Laura Lee both carry a recessive gene that causes cone-rod dystrophy. William has a small amount of functional vision, being able to see shades of light. Laura Lee can read large letters. Laura Lee is also a published author, having been interviewed by multiple sources.

The whole time they are telling me about this, I am speechless. How did I get the honor to serve not just one of the sweetest families but one with a link to ancient childbirth art? I am truly humbled.

Oh! If you are ever going to play Jeopardy, you need Chris on your team. He is probably one of the smartest people I have ever met. He knows more about ancient history than anyone I've ever met.

Articles about William Nutt and his discovery

Ancient image of childbirth discovered by blind archaeologist

UT Arlington graduate student helps to unearth ancient images of childbirth

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