History is a powerful thing. When thinking about pregnancy and how birthing got started, you start to wonder and obsess about it. If you or someone you know is heading to the hospital for a C-section, you may ask yourself these questions. How did this get started? Who was the person that performed it? What’s their story? Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions.

Who is Jesse Bennet?

Jesse Bennet completed medical school back in April of 1791. He married his wife, Elizabeth Hogg, in 1793. They were married for about a year before she became pregnant with their first child.

What’s Their Story?

His wife had a difficult labor. The doctor gave her two options to protect her baby. She had to make a difficult decision to either have a Cesarean section done or have a craniotomy done with the baby still inside her. Dr. Humphrey was supposed to be delivering her baby, but he thought it was too risky, so he left Jesse and his wife alone. On January 14, 1794, Elizabeth talked Jesse into performing a Cesarean section. 

Dr. Bennet jumped into action and got to work preparing his wife for the delivery. He cut her stomach open and took out their beautiful daughter, Maria. Jesse thought it would be too risky to try for another baby in the future, so her husband had to remove her ovaries. He sutured the womb, and a month after their daughter was born, Elizabeth fully recovered.

Their story is an interesting one. People will remember their story every time they, or their spouse, has a C-section done at the hospital.