01/02/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1KunJcBBsk/?mibextid=wwXIfr
In 1500, a man named Jacob Nufer performed an act of desperation that would change medical history. His wife had been in labour for days, and thirteen midwives had tried—and failed—to deliver her child. Faced with the very real prospect of losing both mother and baby, Jacob, a pig castrator by trade, took matters into his own hands. He had experience performing surgical procedures on animals and understood the delicate mechanics of delivery, knowledge that few humans possessed at the time.
Back then, caesarean sections were only permitted if the mother was already dead; saving the mother at the risk of the baby was considered impossible and forbidden. Yet, driven by love and necessity, Jacob obtained special permission to operate on his wife while she was still alive. Using nothing more than a razor blade, he made a careful incision and successfully delivered the child. Miraculously, both mother and baby survived—a feat that astonished everyone and challenged the medical conventions of the era.
Even more astonishing, his wife went on to give birth to five more children naturally, suggesting that Jacob’s skill in stitching her wounds was exceptional. His courage and ingenuity not only saved his family but also opened the door to a new approach in childbirth. What began as an act of personal desperation gradually evolved into the foundation for modern caesarean sections, where both mother and child can be protected.
Jacob Nufer’s story is a reminder that innovation often arises from necessity and courage. In a time when medical rules were rigid and the risk of death was high, one man’s determination to save his wife rewrote what was possible. His legacy lives on every time a caesarean section brings a new life safely into the world, a testament to bravery, skill, and the human instinct to protect those we love.
