1808 -- The use of ergot to induce uterine contractions was introduced into the U.S. increasing the gap between trained physicians and midwives.

1820s -- The stethoscope was applied to the woman's abdomen in order that the fetal heartbeat might be heard.

1840s -- the discovery of puerperal (childbed) fever. The theory was developed that the puerperal gem traveled from patient to patient by way of the hands of the attending physician.

1850 -- Demonstrated midwifery was introduced into the classroom. For the first time medical students were allowed to view the birth of a baby. This practice was ridiculed and seen as unnecessary and offensive.

1853 -- Queen Victoria was administered chloroform during childbirth. The question on anesthesia in childbirth caused some physicians to disapprove of its use. Some critics maintained that the pain and suffering felt during childbirth caused a woman to develop love for her offspring.

1884 -- Dr. T. H. Manley delivered a paper to the New York State Medical Association where he summed up many midwife issues. Manley believed that trained and properly educated midwives were capable of attending normal deliveries. He congratulated them for not using ergot or forceps to speed up the process of labor yet was distressed that there were so few training programs for midwives in the United States.

1888 -- The American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAOG) was formed. This group held the basic tenet that the science of childbirth was a complicated specialty which only physicians were capable of pursuing.

By the late 19^th Century, the middle and upper classes were beginning to embrace the view that childbirth was a disease that must be properly controlled by the use of instruments, drugs, and surgery. It was now being questioned whether or not midwives were capable of serving as competent birth attendants.