article_snippet: By contrast, when Queen Elizabeth I was born in 1533, giving birth was considered such a dangerous practice, women were encouraged to write women wills.
article_snippet: Scottish historian Ashley Cowie, who has appeared on NBC's  Legend Quest, said women were often afraid of giving birth as women feared women would die.
article_snippet: He said: 'In the 15th century it was not unusual for girls to be married between the ages of 15 and 19 and the average number of children born to one mother was between five and seven. '
article_snippet: Childbirth was a dangerous time in a woman's life, and most wrote wills when they knew they were pregnant. '
article_snippet: He added that upper class mothers hired women to feed women babies. '
article_snippet: Meanwhile, having babies in the Middle Ages was shrouded in superstition and folklore.
article_snippet: He said: 'Several rituals surrounded medieval childbirth, including the burning of the newborn's umbilical cord.
article_snippet: Fire was seen as a way of purifying the sinful origins of conception.'
article_snippet: During the 16th century, even queens (Henry VIII's wives Jane Seymour and Katherine Parr) weren't immune from the lack of understanding about cleanliness, and both died of puerperal fever, a septic infection of the reproductive organs that always resulted in death. '
article_snippet: It was part of Eve’s penance. '
highlights_snippet: 16th century women were told to make wills ahead of delivery day .
  