While obstetrics advanced significantly in the last several decades with the advent of in vitro fertilization and fetal surgery, ancient records of obstetric practices show that change has been slow.

Writings of the ancient Egyptians from 1500 BC reveal they keenly understood anatomy. Human dissection, part of the mummification process, yielded an impressive knowledge of the organs of the female reproductive system. Their understanding of conception was less advanced, erroneously believing that women merely housed the man's seed. In their early version of home pregnancy tests, a woman urinated on crops. If wheat and spelt grew, the woman was pregnant. Their birth control methods consisted of a precursor to the diaphragm made of crocodile dung and honey and a douche made of urine and garlic.

The ancient Hebrews also advanced obstetrical knowledge in 1300 BC They were the first to document coitus interruptus as a means of birth control. Hebrews also recorded the first cesarean section performed on a deceased woman. They also realized that women were more fertile at certain points during her cycle.

Obstetrical advances slowed until 1500 with the first cesarean section on a live woman. During the 17th and 18th centuries, several key instruments were invented including the thermometer (1592), watches with minute hands to take pulses, modern forceps and the microscope (1677). In the 1800s anesthesia became popular and in the 1900s advances including oral contraceptives and ultrasound were recorded.

Modern obstetrics, while based on previous experiences, is beginning to improve the quality of women's lives.