---
title: Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene
author: The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18722/roman-marble-plaque-showing-a-birth-scene/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2024-04-02
---

# Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene

_Authored by The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London_

## Image File

[![Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/18722.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/18722.jpg)

## Image Caption

Marble plaque depicting a 'parturition', or birthing scene, excavated in [Ostia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ostia/), [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/), c. 400 BCE to 300 CE.

Such scenes eased the fears of expectant mothers by depicting positive birthing images. During this time, midwives were female. Men were not present at births unless a doctor was required in the case of a high-status mother. Here, a woman reclines on a couch covered in drapes, attended by three [women](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/women/). They are dressed in classical [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) robes and one is holding the baby.

Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection, [Science](https://www.worldhistory.org/science/) Museum Group Collection, London.

## Cite This Work

### APA
London, T. B. o. T. o. t. S. M. (2024, April 02). Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18722/roman-marble-plaque-showing-a-birth-scene/>
### Chicago
London, The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum,. "Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 02, 2024. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18722/roman-marble-plaque-showing-a-birth-scene/>.
### MLA
London, The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum,. "Roman Marble Plaque Showing a Birth Scene." *World History Encyclopedia*, 02 Apr 2024, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18722/roman-marble-plaque-showing-a-birth-scene/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co94539/marble-plaque-showing-parturition-scene-ostia-italy-400-bce-300-ce-relief) by **The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London**. Submitted by [Laura K.C. McCormack](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/laura.d4b/ "User Page: Laura K.C. McCormack"), published on 02 April 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.