How this African kingdom performed its first cesarean section in 1879

How this African kingdom performed its first cesarean section in 1879

Bunyoro, a kingdom in Western Uganda was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from 13th century to the 19th century.

Long before the arrival of the European missionary doctors, the kingdom performed a highly developed surgical procedure; a cesarean section that saved mother and child in pre-hospital days.

In 1879, Robert W. Felkin, a Scottish medical anthropologist witnessed the cesarean section being performed by a native surgeon on a young woman in her 20s in Bunyoro.

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