Justine Siegemund was a Polish midwife who pioneered the field of obstetrics.
She was born in 1636. Her father was a minister in Roztoka.
In 1655 she married an accountant but they had no children. A year later she suffered from uterine prolapse, which prompted her to take up obstetrics.
From 1659 to 1670 she also offered free obstetric services to poor girls in her area.
In her career, it is estimated that she gave birth to around 6,200 girls, including girls of the German royal family, where she worked for many years.
She wrote The Court Midwife in 1690, which was the first of its kind written by a woman.
She died in 1705.
[Source: en.wikipedia.org]
