This selection is from a popular midwives' manual, Rosengarten fur swangere Frauen und Hebammen (Rosegarden for Midwives and Pregnant Women), written by a German city doctor, Eucharius Rosslin, and published in 1513.

When the pregnant woman nears delivery, she should drink mature wine mixed with water. She should also have a regimen of food and drink, a regimen a month before birth which makes one moist but not too fat, and one should avoid what makes one dry, constipated, weighs down, presses or constricts. When the woman is even nearer to delivery, when she still has twelve or fourteen days and feels some pain- and pressure, she should sit in a bath up to her navel every day, sometimes more often, but not too long (so that she doesn't get weak). She should move around with easy work and movements, walking and...