A Mid Century birthing chair. Beautifully carved in softwood, so lightweight and could be easily carried by midwives to home births.

A birthing stool is a backless stool that often has a cutout in the middle of the seat. A birthing chair is similar but typically features a back to support a leaning parent.

Birthing stools and chairs have been used for thousands of years. There are records of Babylonian birthing chairs dating back to 2000 B.C., and the use of birthing stools is documented on Egyptian papyrus.

Most cultures have historically used upright birthing positions such as sitting, standing or squatting, and birthing chairs and stools supported the birthing parent in this upright position. 

As physicians replaced midwives as the primary birth attendants in Western cultures, birthing stools fell out of use in favour of birthing beds. This idea may have come initially from good intentions. Jacques Gillemeau, a French surgeon credited with formally introducing a lying-down position, thought birthing beds would be more comfortable and help induce labour. However, birthing beds remained in widespread use mainly for the doctor's convenience.

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