Justine Siegemund or Siegemundin was a Silesian midwife, whose Court Midwife was the most-read, female-published German obstetrical manual.
Siegemund was born the daughter of Elias Diettrich, a Lutheran minister, in Rohnstock (now Roztoka, Poland), in the former Silesian Duchy of Jawor on 26 December 1636. Her father died in 1650 when she was aged 14. In 1655, she married Christian Siegemund, an accountant, but the marriage was childless.
However, it lasted for 42 years, and Christian Siegemund provided considerable support to his wife during her professional career, although they may have lived apart from 1673. Siegemund’s childlessness should have technically disqualified her from her profession, as only childbearing midwives were supposed to be able to practice.
Cause of Death
Siegemund rarely used early pharmaceuticals or surgical instruments within her practice. By the time that she died on 10 November 1705 in Berlin, Siegemund had delivered almost 6,200 infants, according to the Berlin deacon who presided over her funeral.
On 28 March 2023, Google celebrated Siegemund with a doodle.
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