The Stuff of Childbirth (in-venue)

From medical equipment and hospital bags to lucky charms and religious items, people have long relied on things to manage fear and pain, and to foster hope and resilience during childbirth.

You'll hear more about objects such as the medieval birth scroll featured in our display, ‘Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection’, and the protective practices associated with them.

The panel will discuss their research and experiences on a range of topics such as women’s bodies, reproductive health, birth trauma and loss. You'll then be invited to join the conversation, ask questions or share your own experiences if you wish.

You're welcome to bring babies and young children to the in-venue event. An additional comfortable room will be available where children can move around, make noise and play, while you watch the discussion on a screen.

Kierri is one of the curators of the Wellcome Collection exhibition ‘Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection’. They are an independent researcher and former CHASE Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD student, based jointly at Birkbeck, University of London and Wellcome Collection. Their research focuses on the manuscripts and artefacts of late medieval England, particularly those that relate to interactivity, accessibility and the protection of the body and the soul.

We’ll be in the Forum. To get there, take the lift or stairs up to level 1 and then follow the signs through the ‘Being Human’ gallery.

Booking a ticket for a free, in-person event does not guarantee you a place. You should aim to arrive 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to start to claim your place. If you do not arrive on time, your place may be given to someone on the waiting list.

If this event is fully booked, you may still be able to attend. We will operate a waiting list, which opens 30 minutes before this event starts. Arrive early, and we’ll give you a numbered ticket. If there are any unfilled places just before the start time, we will invite you to enter in order of ticket number.

This event will have British Sign Language interpretation.

There will be a hearing loop at this event.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at [email protected] or call 020 7611 2222.

Our event terms and conditions

Image credit: Event in the Forum, Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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