On January 14, 1794, Elizabeth Bennett delivered her daughter, Maria, by cesarean section. The high-risk operation was performed by her husband, Dr. Jesse Bennett, in their log cabin home in Mason County, VA. At a time when these procedures were deadly, it was a miracle both Elizabeth and her baby survived.
When Elizabeth was struggling with a difficult labor with her first child, she pleaded with her attending physician, Dr. Humphrey, to perform a cesarean section. Considering cesarean deliveries usually resulted in the death of both the mother and child, Dr. Humphrey refused his patient’s wish, on moral grounds. So, her husband took over her care with the help of their slave as well as Elizabeth’s sister. Dr. Bennett set up a makeshift operating table (a plank on two barrels), knocked out his wife with a healthy dose of laudanum (opium) and extracted a healthy baby girl via c-section. He then stitched up Elizabeth with a heavy linen thread. However, before closing the wound, he removed his wife’s ovaries. He figured if his wife beat the odds and survived, neither would want to endure this risky procedure ever again. Astonishingly, six weeks later, Elizabeth was back to normal and lived for another 36 years. Their daughter, Maria, lived until 1870 and gave birth to six children of her own.
Some historians claim Dr. Bennett’s slave played a much more instrumental role in assisting with the operation than originally chronicled. Many believe slaves brought over the knowledge about cesarean sections from Africa to Colonial America.
Although this was the first successful c-section in the United States, Dr. Bennett did not immediately report his miraculous feat. He feared facing an incredulous medical community that might judge the sub-par conditions of his “operating room.” After all, he had performed an extremely risky procedure on his wife in their primitive colonial cabin. Eventually, word got out about the couple’s history-making obstetric accomplishment.
Obstetrics has come a long since the Bennetts’ history-making cesarean delivery back in 1794. Today, it is estimated more than 30 percent of women deliver their babies via c-section.